Characterization and phylogenetic analysis of α-gliadin gene sequences reveals significant genomic divergence in Triticeae species.

Although the unique properties of wheat α-gliadin gene family are well characterized, little is known about the evolution and genomic divergence of α-gliadin gene family within the Triticeae. We isolated a total of 203 α-gliadin gene sequences from 11 representative diploid and polyploid Triticeae species, and found 108 sequences putatively functional. Our results indicate that α-gliadin genes may have possibly originated from wild Secale species, where the sequences contain the shortest repetitive domains and display minimum variation. A miniature inverted-repeat transposable element insertion is reported for the first time in α-gliadin gene sequence of Thinopyrum intermedium in this study, indicating that the transposable element might have contributed to the diversification of α-gliadin genes family among Triticeae genomes. The phylogenetic analyses revealed that the α-gliadin gene sequences of Dasypyrum, Australopyrum, Lophopyrum, Eremopyrum and Pseudoroengeria species have amplified several times. A search for four typical toxic epitopes for celiac disease within the Triticeae α-gliadin gene sequences showed that the α-gliadins of wild Secale, Australopyrum and Agropyron genomes lack all four epitopes, while other Triticeae species have accumulated these epitopes, suggesting that the evolution of these toxic epitopes sequences occurred during the course of speciation, domestication or polyploidization of Triticeae.