Tritium spelta L. – Suebian crop? An ethnographic hypothesis on genetic trial

Abstract

Until the 20th century, spelt (Triticum spelta) was the traditional wheat used in the North-West of the Iberian Peninsula. A recently proposed ethnographic thesis states that this cereal was a vestige and heritage of the Germanic Suebi kingdom that established in Gallecia between 410 and 584. The present study aims to verify the mentioned thesis and to draw conclusions about possible migrations routes of the suebians. The genetic comparison included Triticum spelta L. samples of North-West-Iberian origin and a large number of samples from other Eurasian regions, including alleged suebian homeland regions (e.g. Suabia/Germany) before they immigrated in the Peninsula. An approximately 1-kb sequence, including a part of the promoter and the coding region of the high molecular-weight (HMW) glutenin B1-1 subunit gene of 48 accessions were analysed by allelic differentiation. The mutual similarities between all sequences were determined by multiple alignment and using the Neighbor Joining clustering method (Bionumerics software). Our data show that Iberian, Mediterranean and Eurasian varieties clearly shared genetic similarities, whereas the varieties from Central and North Europe grouped in other clusters. We therefore suggest that this cereal was not a vestige of the Germanic Suebi kingdom that established in Gallecia.