Relationships between seed oil content and fatty acid composition in high stearic acid sunflower

Abstract

AbstractThe high stearic acid sunflower mutant CAS‐3 is characterized by a low seed oil content, which might represent a constraint for the commercial production of high stearic acid sunflower oil. The objective of the present research was to investigate the relationships between fatty acid profile and seed oil content in CAS‐3. Plants of CAS‐3 were reciprocally crossed with plants of breeding line ADV‐37, with high oil content and standard fatty acid profile. Oil content and fatty acid composition were measured in individual F2 seeds and F2 plants (F3 seeds averaged). Both F2 seeds and F2 plants from the cross ADV‐37 × CAS‐3 had a significantly higher oil content than those from the reciprocal cross, which indicated the existence of cytoplasmic effects in the genetic control of the trait. A consistent negative correlation between oil content and palmitic acid and a positive correlation between oil content and oleic acid were detected both in F2 seeds and F2 plants. Conversely, no consistent correlation between oil content and stearic acid was observed, which suggested the feasibility of simultaneous selection for both traits.