An Overview on Flax (Linum usitatissimumL.) and its Genetic Diversity

Abstract

Flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) is an annual, self-pollinated species with a genome size of ~ 370 Mb. Flax provides raw materials for food, medicine and textiles and hence it has been of great importance to human culture and development. Linseed oil is well-known for its health benefits mainly attributed to its high content of omega-3 alpha linolenic acid (55–57%). Consumption of grounded seeds adds nutritional benefits because flax seeds are also a rich source of lignans, having anticancer properties. India contributes to almost 20% of world's linseed production and governs linseed production among the Asian countries whereas, the scenario is just reverse in case of fibre flax. In the last decade, the fibre industry has devoted some effort to develop high-value products from linseed stems with applications in the pulp, technical fibre and biofuel industries. Therefore, understanding its genetic diversity is important for the continued improvement of this crop and as well as for its utilization as a truly dual purpose crop. Diversity analysis based on morphology alone has a significant limitation in the fact that it is highly influenced by the environment, to overcome this problem; molecular characterization can play an important role. However, systematic studies regarding the genetic diversity of flax in India are meagre. Hence, in-depth studies based on both morphological and molecular markers will help in better conceiving the genetic diversity of flax germplasm.