Relationship between physico-chemical and molecular grain quality parameters for Tunisian durum wheat varieties (triticum durum L.) in different environments

An experimentation using eight Tunisian durum wheat varieties (four landraces and four high yielding ones) was conducted in two different bioclimatic regions (semi-arid and sub-humid) during two growing years. Relationships between agronomic (grain yield), physico-chemical (total protein content, gluten content, gluten index) and molecular parameters (high molecular weight glutenin subunits (HMW-GS), low molecular weight glutenin subunits (LMW-GS) and their ratios) were investigated. The variability of protein content was significant in relation to environment (E), while the gluten index, indicating the gluten strength, was mainly controlled by genotypic factors (G). The quantification in relative percentages of HMW-GS y and x by CE LabChip90 and the estimation of HMW-GSy/HMW-GSx and of HMW-GS/LMW-GS showed that these fractions have varied in relation to E, G and to their interaction (p