A. De Haro

Survey of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L .)germplasm for variants in fatty acid composition and other seed characters

SummaryTwo hundred safflower accessions, originated in 37 countries, and multiplied in two environments, were evaluated for fatty acid composition of the seed oil and other seed characters. Overall mean values of stearic and palmitic acids were similar in both environments but differed for seed weight and oil content. Oleic and linoleic acids showed also similar overall mean content in both environments but some entries with intermediate contents of these acids displayed significant variation among environments. Oleic and linoleic acids showed a tremendous range of variation, from 3.1 to 90.60% and from 3.9 to 88.8%, respectively. The ranges of variation observed for stearic, oleic and linoleic acids indicate that all the reccessive genes, already discovered, controlling high content of these acids, st, ol and li, are present in the collection. Moreover, the upper values of oleic, ten points higher than the published values for the high oleic genotype olol, suggest than other genes controlling such levels may be present.

Development of high-oleic, low-linolenic acid Ethiopian-mustard (Brassica carinata) germplasm

Abstract. Seed oil of current zero erucic-acid germplasm of Ethiopian mustard (Brassica carinata A. Braun) is characterized by a low concentration of oleic acid and high concentrations of linoleic and linolenic acids. Sources of increased oleic-acid (HO) and reduced linolenic-acid (LL) concentration have been developed separately in high erucic-acid germplasm. The objectives of the present research were to study the inheritance of the HO and LL traits in crosses HO × LL, and to develop HOLL recombinants, both in high erucic-acid and zero erucic-acid backgrounds. The HO mutant N2-3591 (about 20% oleic acid compared to 9% in conventional high erucic-acid materials), was reciprocally crossed with the LL lines N2-4961 and HF-186 (both with about 5% linolenic acid compared to 12% in standard high erucic-acid materials). Increased oleic acid concentration of N2-3591 was found to be controlled by alleles at one locus (Ol), whereas three different loci for reduced linolenic-acid concentration (Ln, Ln1 and Ln2) were identified in N2-4961 and HF-186. Crosses between N2-3591 and N2-4961 generated HOLL recombinants where levels of increased oleic-acid and reduced linolenic-acid were similar to those of the parents. However, a transgressive segregation for oleic acid was observed in crosses between N2-3591 and HF-186, where F2 seeds with up to 29.7% oleic acid were obtained, in comparison to an upper limit of 25.1% in the N2-3591 parent grown in the same environment. The transgressive increased oleic-acid was expressed in the F3 generation and was attributed to the presence of a second locus, designated Ol2. The transgressive trait was transferred to the zero erucic-acid line 25X-1, resulting in a zero erucic-acid germplasm with very high oleic-acid concentration (83.9% compared to 32.9% in 25X-1) and low linolenic-acid concentration (5.0% compared to 16% in 25X-1). Additionally, two other lines exhibiting different stable levels of increased oleic-acid (70.7% and 79.5%, respectively) and reduced levels of linolenic-acid (7.5% and 8.7%, respectively) were isolated.

Evaluation of wild sunflower ( Helianthus ) species for high content and stability of linoleic acid in the seed oil

A collection of 168 accessions belonging to 62 species and subspecies was evaluated in Cordoba, Spain, in 1985 for fatty acid composition of the seed oil. Linoleic acid content of seed produced in Cordoba (mean temperature during seed formation 27·9 °C) was compared with that of seed obtained under much cooler environmental conditions in Montpellier, France, (mean temperature 19·5 °C). Linoleic acid content ranged from 27·3 to 83·7% in the warm environment and from 45·9 to 88·7% in the cool environment with average values of 64·3% and 75·0%, respectively. Twenty-three species with linoleic acid values of > 70% in both environments were evaluated again, in 1989 in Cordoba (mean temperature 31 °C). Twelve wild species showed consistently high and more stable linoleic acid contents than the cultivated control and could be readily used in breeding programmes to improve oil quality.

Transgressive segregation of erucic acid content in Brassica carinata A. Braun.

Abstract Two Ethiopian mustard (Brassica carinata A. Braun) lines with low (about 10%) and zero erucic acid (C22:1) have been obtained. The low C22:1 mutant line L-2890 was isolated after a chemical-mutagen treatment of C-101 seeds (about 40% C22:1). The zero C22:1 line L-25X-1 was obtained by interspecific crossing. Our objective was to determine the genetic control of low and zero C22:1 contents in these lines and the relationship between the loci controlling these traits. Reciprocal crosses between L-2890, L-25X-1 and high C22:1 lines, and between L-2890 and L-25X-1, were made. The F1, F2 and BC1 F1 generations were obtained. No maternal or cytoplasmic effects for C22:1 content were observed in any of the crosses. The analysis of the fatty acid composition in the segregating populations from the crosses of L-2890 with the high C22:1 lines C-101 and L-1630 indicated that the segregation patterns fitted a model of two alleles at two loci, M1 and M2, with partial (near complete) dominance for high concentration. The segregation patterns in the cross of the zero C22:1 line L-25X-1 with the high C22:1 line L-1630, were explained on the basis of two genes, E1 and E2, with additive gene action. The F1 and segregating generations of the crosses L-2890 × L-25X-1 showed a strong transgressive segregation with C22:1 values of up to 50.0%, four-fold higher than those of L-2890. The analyses of the F2, BC1F1 and F3 generations indicated that the combination of alleles at four loci, M1 and M2 in L-2890 and E1 and E2 in L-25X-1, controlled the transgressive segregation for C22:1. The proposed genotypes (C22:1 content) for each parent were as follows: L-2890 (10% C22:1) = m1m1m2m2E1E1E2E2; L-25X-1 (0% C22:1) = M1M1M2M2e1e1e2e2; and C-101 (45% C22:1) = M1M1M2M2E1E1E2E2.

First Field Trials of Borage (Borago officinalis L.) in Andalusia (Southern Spain) as a Source of “Biological” Gamma Linolenic Acid

SUMMARY Borage (Borago officinalis L.) is cultivated in the north of Spain for fresh edible production and is gathered from natural populations for its fresh flowers with saline, cucumber-like flavor. It is considered as a weed in the rest of Spain. Nevertheless, the agroecological mediterranean conditions in the south of Spain are adequate for growing borage as an oilseed crop for γ-linolenic acid (GLA) production. One ha of borage was sown on a farm in the Guadalquivir Valley in the Autumn of 1999. The farm was located in Carmona (province Seville) and cultivated under biological production conditions, controlled by the “Comité Andaluz de Agricultura Ecológica” (CAAE), the Andalusian biological control organization (an IFOAM member). The crop was developed by dry farming, fertilized with common vetch, and false technical sowing was employed to avoid weeds. The harvest was collected mechanically and the seed was produced using densimetrical method. A yield of 544 kg of clean seed/ha with 27.3–33.3% oil content was obtained. This yield is similar to that obtained under conventional agronomic conditions. That it is possible to cultivate borage under biological conditions in the south of Spain for GLA commercial production with biological label quality has therefore been demonstrated.