Assessment of amylose and amylopectin variability in barley germplasm

Barley grain is composed of carbohydrates,proteins,dietary fiber,vitamins and minerals. the present study was conducted to investigate the variability for amylose and amylopectin content in different accessions of wild and cultivated barley from different regions. our results showed that apparent amylose content ranged from 14.1 to 35.8%,5.7 to 26.8% and 13.9 to 36.2% for wild barley,barley landraces and varieties,respectively. the highest range for amylopectin content was observed in barley landraces from 33.7 to 81.7% with the highest mean average value and the lowest range from 39.9 to 63.7% with 52.5% mean average value was observed in wild barley for amylopectin content. furthermore,we found that out of 157 accessions,52 had an average content of amylose (20-30%),whereas six accessions had more than 30% of amylose content. our results indicated that the wild barley and barley varieties had considerable variation for amylose and amylopectin ratio compared to barley landraces,which not only provided some useful information about the difference in the amount of amylose and amylopectin content among these barley accessions,but also offered some prospects of using selected germplasm for barley quality improvement in respect of preferred amylose and amylopectin content. © 2015,pakistan botanical society. all rights reserved.