Marker-Assisted Selection for Low Linolenic Acid Content in Soybean

Abstract

ABSTRACT Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill] is a major crop in the world and in the United States. In 2006, soybeans represented 57% of the world oilseed production. Because of oxidation problems upon heating and storage of the oil, and because of health risks related to the production of trans-fatty acids during oil hydrogenation, reducing linolenic acid content in soybean oil below 2% is now an important goal in soybean breeding programs. The current methods for evaluation of the fatty acid content in the oil (fat extraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of the fatty acids) are time consuming and expensive. Our objective was to develop molecular markers that would allow the selection for low linolenic acid lines without the need for analysis of the fatty acid content of the oil. Populations were developed by crossing a low linolenic parent with high-yielding adapted South Dakota lines. We developed a molecular marker that was linked to the low linolenic acid trait in our populations and permitted effective selection for low linolenic acid lines. In the three populations developed for the study, a single backcross proved to be the most effective way to combine the low linolenic acid trait of the donor parent with the high-yielding genes of the recurrent parent.