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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Raleigh, North Carolina » Soybean and Nitrogen Fixation Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #206196
Title: Correlations between palmitate content and agronomic traits in soybean populations segregating for the fap1, fapnc, and fan alleles

Author
item CARDINAL, ANDREA - NC STATE UNIVERSITY
item Burton, Joseph

Submitted to: Crop Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/15/2006
Publication Date: 9/1/2007
Citation: Cardinal, A., Burton, J.W. 2007. Correlations between palmitate content and agronomic traits in soybean populations segregating for the fap1, fapnc, and fan alleles. Crop Sci., 47:1804-1812.

Interpretive Summary: Palmitic acid is the predominant saturated fatty acid in soybean oil, which typically contains 11 to 12% palmitic acid. To reduce the health risks of coronary diseases and breast, colon, and prostate cancers associated with the consumption of this fatty acid, soybean breeders have developed soybean lines with reduced palmitic acid content. Several studies have shown that the presence of two major genes, fap1 and fapnc, that reduce the palmitic acid content in seed oil also reduce yield. About 100 lines from each of three different breeding populations were extensively field tested. The relation between palmitic acid and seed yield in the three populations all showed that decreasing palmitic acid also tended to decrease yield. So this makes the task of the soybean breeder who wants to decrease saturated fatty acids in soybean oil, much more difficult. These results will help breeders devise a solution to this problem.

Technical Abstract: Palmitic acid (16:0) is the predominant saturated fatty acid in soybean oil, which typically contains 110 to 120 g kg-1 palmitic acid. To reduce the health risks of coronary diseases and breast, colon, and prostate cancers associated with the consumption of this fatty acid, breeders have developed soybean lines with reduced palmitic acid content. Several studies have shown that the presence of major fap1 and fapnc alleles reduce the palmitic acid content in seed oil also reduce yield. The objectives of this study were to estimate the genotypic and phenotypic correlation between palmitic acid contents with other fatty acids and agronomic traits in three populations segregating for the fapnc, and fap1, alleles as well as alleles at modifier genes grown. Either 98 or 99 random F5 lines from each population were grown in replicated yield tests in three environments. Genetic correlations between palmitic acid and yield in the three populations were 0.84, 0.47, and 0.40. Thus, the major fapnc or fap1 or both alleles had a major negative effect on yield. These effects could be due to pleiotropy or due to linkage with unfavorable yield genes. The latter would likely be easier to deal with in a plant breeding setting than the former.