Registration of four upland cotton germplasm lines with elevated levels of seed oil oleic acid

Authors: Dowd, Michael; McCarty, Jack; Shockey, Jay; Jenkins, Johnie

Submitted to: Journal of Plant Registrations
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/25/2019
Publication Date: 1/20/2020
Citation: Dowd, M.K., McCarty Jr, J.C., Shockey, J., Jenkins, J.N. 2020. Registration of four upland cotton germplasm lines with elevated levels of seed oil oleic acid. Journal of Plant Registrations. 14(1):64-71. https://doi.org/10.1002/plr2.20017.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/plr2.20017

Interpretive Summary: For upland cotton plant lines have been developed that have elevated levels of oleic acid in their seed oils. The trait was bred from wild Pima cotton accession into an standard upland cotton with good agronomic fiber and seed properties. Oils with high levels of oleic acid are considered to be healthier and have improved oxidative stability at elevated temperature making them preferred for some cooking and frying applications. The work should be of interest to plant breeders with interest in developing value added seed properties and oil chemists interested with vegetable oils with different functional properties.

Technical Abstract: Four upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) germplasm lines, HOa1-HOa4 with elevated levels of seed oil oleic acid were developed and released by the Agricultural Research Service of the U. S. Department of Agriculture. The elevated oleate trait can be traced to a wild G. barbadense L. accession GB713 (PI 608139) that contains an altered allele of the FAD2-1D gene, which codes for an enzyme that converts oleic acid to linoleic acid. GB713 is also a source of reniform nematode (Rotylenchulus reniformis Linford and Oliveira) resistance and had been used to breed this trait into an upland cotton background. Root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne incognita (Kofoid & White) Chitwood) resistance was then bred into the reniform resistant lines to yield germplasm with resistance to both nematodes. Testing for oleic acid in the seed oils of these lines identified elevated levels in some seeds within both previously released nematode resistance lines. Gas chromatography of the oil fatty acids was used to select individual plants from within these lines and resulted in approximately double the level of oleic acid found in normal cottonseed oil. Oils with high levels of oleic acid are considered to be healthier and have improved oxidative stability at elevated temperature making them preferred for some cooking and frying applications.