A novel family of γ-gliadin genes are highly regulated by nitrogen supply in developing wheat grain

Six wheat cultivars were grown at Rothamsted (UK) with three levels of nitrogen fertilizer (100, 200 and 350kg N/ha) in 2009 and 2010. Gene expression in developing caryopses at 21 days post-anthesis (DPA) was profiled using the Affymetrix Wheat GeneChip(®). Four of 105 transcripts which were significantly upregulated by nitrogen level were annotated as γ-3 hordein and the identification of corresponding expressed sequence tags showed that they differed in sequence from previously described (typical) γ-gliadins and represented a novel form of γ-gliadin. Real-time reverse transcriptase PCR at 14, 21, 28 and 35 DPA revealed that this transcript was most abundant and most responsive to nitrogen at 21 DPA. Four novel γ-gliadin genes were isolated by PCR amplification from wheat cv. Hereward and the related species Aegilops tauschii and Triticum monococcum while three were assembled from the genomic sequence database of wheat cv. Chinese Spring (www.cerealsdb.uk.net). Comparison of the deduced amino acid sequences of the seven genes showed that they shared only 44.4–46.0% identity with the sequence of a typical γ-gliadin (accession number EF15018), but 61.8–68.3% identity with the sequence of γ-3 hordein from the wild barley species Hordeum chilense (AY338065). The novel γ-gliadin genes were localized to the group 1 chromosomes (1A, 1B, 1D).