General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Modern wheat a "perfect, chronic poison," doctor says [View all]HiPointDem
(20,729 posts)had (has) 28 chromosomes. and T. aestivum, which first appeared on the scene maybe 8000 years ago as a natural hybrid of emmer & another wild grass, had 42 chromosomes, just like modern T aestivum wheat varieties do.
http://books.google.com/books?id=8tz2aB1-jb4C&pg=PA213&lpg=PA213&dq=emmer+28+chromosomes&source=bl&ots=PEwbf-cGlB&sig=JKMaxppnU84WIzXgeMyZxYUsQps&hl=en&sa=X&ei=pD6wUMraF9DWigKc7YD4CA&ved=0CFwQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=emmer%2028%20chromosomes&f=false
Gluten is the inclusive term for a complex mixture of storage proteins found in grains. There are more than 50 different protein components in hexaploid wheat. When a person with Celiac Disease becomes exposed to specific amino acid sequences of some storage proteins, the immune system is stimulated to attack the body.
All members of the Triticum family contain the amino acid sequences.
The two major wheat species used for food production are bread wheat and durum wheat. However, other triticums were cultivated and consumed historically and are still marketed today. They include spelt, emmer, and einkorn. (I've highlighted D genome wheats)
Common Name Scientific Name Genomes
Wheat (bread) Triticum aestivum A B D
Durum (pasta ) wheat Triticum turgidum var durum A B
Spelt Triticum aestivum var spelta AA BB DD
Emmer Triticum turgidum var diccum AA BB
Kamut Triticum turgidum, ssp. turanicum AA BB
A, B and D genomes of cultivated wheat are derived from related wild grass species of the genera Triticum and Aegilops and therefore encode the related proteins.
Consequently, it is not valid to expect any cultivated or wild wheat species to be nontoxic to those suffering from celiac disease despite claims to the contrary.
http://www.csaceliacs.info/celiac_disease_defined_spelt_is_wheat.jsp