Monoclonal antibodies specific for gliadin band 45 (gli 45) of common wheat cultivar 'Marquis' were treated against durum wheat gliadins using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In a test of 15 durum cultivars, high ELISA values were associated with gli 45, high gluten strength, and high sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) sedimentation volume; low ELISA values were associated with gli 42, low gluten strength, and low SDS-sedimentation volume. Analysis of 120 F5 lines from the backcrosses Ward/Vic//Vic and Ward/Vic//Ward confirmed that a high reaction to ELISA was statistically correlated with the presence of gli 45, with high gluten strength, and with high SDS-sedimentation volume. It was concluded that monoclonal antibodies specific for gli 45 have potential as a test for rapid screening of durum wheat breeding populations for desirable pasta-making quality.Key words: monoclonal antibodies, gliadin, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, durum wheat.