ISSN 0095-4527, Cytology and Genetics, 2014, Vol. 48, No. 1, pp. 33–41. © Allerton Press, Inc., 2014. Original Russian Text © N.A. Kozub, R.L. Boguslavskii, I.A. Sozinov, Ye.V. Tverdokhleb, I.N. Xynias, Ya.B. Blume, A.A. Sozinov, 2014, published in Tsitologiya i Genetika, 2014, Vol. 48, No. 1, pp. 41–51. 33 INTRODUCTION Triticum spelta L. (syn. T. aestivum L. ssp. spelta (L.) Thell; hereinafter, T. spelta) is a hulled hexaploid wheat (genomic formula AABBDD, 2n = 6x = 42) [1]. Its spike breaks up into spikelets during threshing, and further processing is needed to free the grain. At present, spelt is a “relict crop” in countries of Central Europe and is cultivated in a number of other coun- tries around the world. However, its total area is signif- icantly less than the area under common wheat (T. aestivum L., syn. T. aestivum L. ssp. aestivum (hereinafter, T. aestivum)) with the same genomic for- mula AABBDD (2n = 6x = 42); as opposed to spelt, this wheat is free-threshing. In recent years, the inter- est to spelt as a crop for organic farming and a source of “healthy food” has been resumed in different coun- tries around the world as it is less demanding to appli- cation of fertilizers, treatment with pesticides, and is more tolerant to certain unfavorable environmental conditions, although less productive as compared to T. aestivum [2, 3]. Some spelt cultivars are character- ized by a high protein content in grain [4–6]. Products 1 1 1 1 from spelt grain are widely advertised and are in high demand due to good taste and consumer qualities [2]. Spelt is divided into two large geographic: Euro- pean (supraconvar. spelta) and Asian (supraconvar. kuckuckianum Gökg. ex Dorof. et al.) [1]. Archaeo- logical studies indicate the discovery of spelt remains in the late Neolithic period in Central Europe and its wide distribution in the Bronze Age in northern Europe [7, 8]. The question regarding the origin of spelt remains unresolved: whether there were two (in Asia and Europe) or one center of origin (in the Mid- dle East). Based on the analysis of gene sequences for high-molecular-weight glutenin subunits, Blatter et al. [9] proposed a hypothesis about the different origin of European and Asian spelt and assumed that European spelt arose as a result of hybridization of tetraploid wheat with free-threshing hexaploid wheat. Data on the distribution of alleles of a γ-gliadin gene at the locus Gli-B1, which in European spelt cultivars are similar to the alleles of modern cultivars of durum wheat with the 45-type gliadin, are also in agreement with the hypoth- esis about the origin of European spelt [10]. 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Alleles at Storage Protein Loci in Triticum spelta L. Accessions and Their Occurrence in Related Wheats N. A. Kozub a, b , R. L. Boguslavskii c , I. A. Sozinov a , Ye. V. Tverdokhleb c , I. N. Xynias d , Ya. B. Blume b , and A. A. Sozinov a, b a Institute of Plant Protection, National Academy of Agrarian Sciences, ul. Vasylkivska 33, Kiev, 03022 Ukraine b Institute of Food Biotechnology and Genomics, National Academy of Sciences, ul. Osypovskoho 2-a, Kiev, 04123 Ukraine c Yuryev Plant Production Institute, National Center for Plant Genetic Resources, National Academy of Agrarian Sciences, pr. Moskovs’kii 142, Kharkiv, 61060 Ukraine d Technological and Educational Institution of Kalamata, Antikalamos, Kalamata, 24100 Greece e-mail: sia1@i.com.ua Received July 15, 2013 Abstract—The diversity at eight storage protein loci was analyzed in the collection of Triticum spelta access- sions from the National Center for Plant Genetic Resources of Ukraine (most of accessions were European spelts). Seven alleles at the Gli-B1 locus; five alleles at the Gli-A1 and Glu-B1 loci; three alleles at the Glu-B1 locus; and two alleles at the Gli-D1, Gli-B5, Glu-A1, and Glu-D1 loci were identified. Most alleles are found among common wheat cultivars; only five spelt-specific alleles were detected. The high frequency of the Gli- B1hs* and h alleles encoding the 45-type γ-gliadin among European spelt and durum wheat, as well as the occurrence of these alleles in T. dicoccum (particularly, in emmer accessions from Switzerland and Ger- many), are evidence in favor of von Büren’s hypothesis that the European spelt arose from the hybridization between tetraploid wheat with the 45-type γ-gliadin and hexaploid wheat. The analysis of genetic distances based on the genotypes at eight storage protein loci allowed differentiating the Asian spelt accession from European spelts. Keywords: Triticum spelta, gliadins, high-molecular-weight glutenin subunits, alleles, diversity, Triticum aes- tivum, Triticum durum, Triticum dicoccum DOI: 10.3103/S0095452714010046 1 1 1 1