Transgressive segregation of erucic acid content in Brassica carinata A. Braun.

Two Ethiopian mustard ( Brassica carinata A. Braun) lines with low (about 10%) and zero erucic acid (C22:1) have been obtained. The low C22:1 mutant line L-2890 was isolated after a chemical-mutagen treatment of C-101 seeds (about 40% C22:1). The zero C22:1 line L-25X-1 was obtained by interspecific crossing. Our objective was to determine the genetic control of low and zero C22:1 contents in these lines and the relationship between the loci controlling these traits. Reciprocal crosses between L-2890, L-25X-1 and high C22:1 lines, and between L-2890 and L-25X-1, were made. The F(1), F(2) and BC(1) F(1) generations were obtained. No maternal or cytoplasmic effects for C22:1 content were observed in any of the crosses. The analysis of the fatty acid composition in the segregating populations from the crosses of L-2890 with the high C22:1 lines C-101 and L-1630 indicated that the segregation patterns fitted a model of two alleles at two loci, M1 and M2, with partial (near complete) dominance for high concentration. The segregation patterns in the cross of the zero C22:1 line L-25X-1 with the high C22:1 line L-1630, were explained on the basis of two genes, E1 and E2, with additive gene action. The F(1) and segregating generations of the crosses L-2890 x L-25X-1 showed a strong transgressive segregation with C22:1 values of up to 50.0%, four-fold higher than those of L-2890. The analyses of the F(2), BC(1)F(1) and F(3) generations indicated that the combination of alleles at four loci, M(1) and M(2) in L-2890 and E(1) and E(2) in L-25X-1, controlled the transgressive segregation for C22:1. The proposed genotypes (C22:1 content) for each parent were as follows: L-2890 (10% C22:1) = m(1) m(1) m(2) m(2) E(1) E(1) E(2) E(2); L-25X-1 (0% C22:1) = M(1) M(1) M(2) M(2) e(1) e(1) e(2) e(2); and C-101 (45% C22:1) = M(1) M(1) M(2) M(2) E(1) E(1) E(2) E(2).