The genome specific grain proteins and the phylogenetic interrelation between Triticum L., Elytrigia Desf., Elymus L. and Agropyron Gaertn.

Immunochemical protein studies show that nongliadins of the ethanol-soluble fraction (EF) provide the best biochemical information on genome interrelations in cereals. After electrophoresis (pH 3.2) these genome specific proteins are shown to fall within the category of α-prolamines and albumins where inhibitors against α-amylases are to be found. Although these genome specific proteins of the EF exhibit identical serological properties, they may differ in electrophoretic mobility. They may very well be controlled by different chromosomes within a certain, characteristic genome. Electrophoretic analyses will thus likely reveal interrelations between individual chromosomes or even chromosome segments while the precipitation spectrum of the EF will function as a marker of the whole genomes or at least of the major part of their genetic material. This advantage of the immunological technique has been explored in a study of the phylogenetic relations between different genomes belonging to Triticum L., Elytrigia Desf., Elymus L. and Agropyron Gaertn. Serological markers for the main genomes of Triticum were checked against species and genomes of the other three genera.More than 80 species belonging to these three genera were proved to be immunologically distinctive from the wheat genomes. Antigens produced against diploid Elytrigia species were not only checked with other species belonging to Elytrigia but also to Elymus and Agropyron. This inventory of interrelationships confirmed previous knowledge and also added some new information on the phylogeny of the polyploid representatives of Elytrigia and Elymus.