Discrimination Between the Grain of Spelt and Common Wheat Hybrids and their Parental Forms Using Fourier Transform Infrared–Attenuated Total Reflection

Abstract

The grain of five spring spelt lines, three common wheat cultivars, and their hybrids were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared–attenuated total reflection spectroscopy. Variations in the log(absorbance) values in the range of 900–1200 cm−1 (carbohydrates), 1520–1550 cm−1 (amides II), 1637–1655 cm−1 (amides I), and 2850–2955 cm−1 (lipids) indicated that hybrids were more similar to common wheat than to spelt. Significant differences between common wheat and spelt were reported in the above wavenumber range. No such differences were noted between common wheat × spelt and spelt × common wheat hybrid groups. A classical discriminant analysis indicated that hybrids were more similar to common wheat than to spelt. Fourier transform infrared–attenuated total reflection emerges as a highly suitable tool for the identification of spelt grains intended for human consumption or further processing.