The high molecular weight (HMW) and B-zone low molecular weight (B-LMW) glutenin subunit composition of 45 Algerian durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. var. durum) landraces and old cultivars were examined by sodium-dodecyl-sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Nine accessions were heterogeneous and presented two or three genotypes. All together, 33 glutenin patterns were detected, including 12 for HMW and 15 for B-LMW glutenin subunits. Twenty-four different alleles were identified for the five glutenin loci studied, Glu-A1 (3), Glu-B1 (6), Glu-A3 (8), Glu-B3 (5) and Glu-B2 (2). Five new alleles were found, three at Glu-A3 and two at Glu-B3. At the Glu-1 loci, the Glu-A1c-Glu-B1e allelic composition was predominant (31%). For the B-LMW glutenins, the most common allelic composition was Glu-A3a-Glu-B3a-Glu-B2a (36%). The collection analysed shows a high percentage of glutenin alleles and allele combinations related to high gluten strength, together with some others that have not been tested so far. This information could be useful to select local varieties with improved quality and also as a source of genes to develop new lines when breeding for quality. © 2005 Blackwell Verlag.