A comparison of macro- and microelement concentrations in the whole grain of four Triticum species

The aim of this study was to compare the concentrations of five macro- and fifteen microelements in the whole grain of spring lines of emmer, einkorn, spelt and two common wheat cultivars, all grown under identical environmental conditions. All elements were determined by ICP-SFMS analysis. The studied Triticum species differed significantly with respect to the concentrations of P, Mg, Zn, Fe, Mn, Na, Cu, Sr, Rb, and Mo. The grain of all hulled wheats, compared with common wheat, contained significantly more Zn (from 34% to 54%), Fe (from 31% to 33%) and Cu (from 3% to 28%). In the majority of cases, there were no relationships between the concentrations of the analyzed elements, except for significant positive correlations between the levels of Fe, Zn and Mn, in particular in T. monococcum and T. dicoccum. The classical linear discriminant analysis enabled to distinguish between the three studied Triticum species with regard to the concentrations of all analyzed elements in their grain. A significant discrimination indicates that the concentrations of the investigated elements are a species-specific character. A strong correlation between Zn, Fe and Mn could have important implications for wheat quality breeding.