Rapid discrimination of commercial strawberry cultivars using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy data combined by multivariate analysis

To determine whether pattern recognition based on metabolite fingerprinting for whole cell extracts can be used to discriminate cultivars metabolically, leaves and fruits of five commercial strawberry cultivars were subjected to Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. FT-IR spectral data from leaves were analyzed by principal component analysis (PCA) and Fisher’s linear discriminant function analysis. The dendrogram based on hierarchical clustering analysis of these spectral data separated the five commercial cultivars into two major groups with originality. The first group consisted of Korean cultivars including ‘Maehyang’, ‘Seolhyang’, and ‘Gumhyang’, whereas in the second group, ‘Ryukbo’ clustered with ‘Janghee’, both Japanese cultivars. The results from analysis of fruits were the same as of leaves. We therefore conclude that the hierarchical dendrogram based on PCA of FT-IR data from leaves represents the most probable chemotaxonomical relationship between cultivars, enabling discrimination of cultivars in a rapid and simple manner. The authors Suk Weon Kim and Sung Ran Min contributed equally to this work.