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Identification of the molecular genetic basis of the low palmitic acid seed oil trait in soybean mutant line RG3 and association analysis of molecular markers with elevated seed stearic acid and reduced seed palmitic acid

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Abstract

The fatty acid composition of vegetable oil is becoming increasingly critical for its ultimate functionality and utilization in foods and industrial products. Partial chemical hydrogenation of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] oil increases oxidative stability and shelf life but also results in the introduction of trans fats as an unavoidable byproduct. Due to mandatory labeling of consumer products containing trans fats, conventional soybean oil has lost the ability to deliver the most appropriate economical functionality and oxidative stability, particularly for baking applications. Genetic improvement of the fatty acid profile of soybean oil is one method of meeting these new requirements for oil feedstocks. In this report, we characterized three mutant genetic loci controlling the saturated fatty acid content of soybean oil: two genes additively reduce palmitic acid content (fap1 and fap3-ug), and one gene independently elevates stearic acid content (fas). We identified a new null allele of fap3-ug/GmFATB1A (derived from line ELLP2) present in line RG3. The splicing defect mutation in a beta-ketoacyl-[acyl-carrier-protein] synthase III candidate gene located in the region mapped to fap1, derived originally from ethyl methane sulphonate mutant line C1726 (Cardinal et al. in Theor Appl Genet 127:97–111, 2014), was also present in line RG3. We also utilized the elevated stearic acid line RG7, which has previously been shown to contain novel mutant fas/SACPD-C alleles encoding stearoyl-acyl carrier protein desaturase (Boersma et al. in Crop Sci 52:1736–1742, 2012). Molecular marker assays have been developed to track these causative mutations and understand their contributions to seed oil fatty acid profiles in a recombinant inbred line population segregating for fap1, fap3-ug, and fas alleles.

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Abbreviations

KASIII:

Beta-ketoacyl-[acyl-carrier-protein] synthase III

SACPD-C:

Stearoyl-acyl carrier protein desaturase isoform C

FATB1a:

Fatty acyl-ACP thioesterase B isoform 1a

RIL:

Recombinant inbred line

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the superb technical expertise provided by Kerry Clark, Christine Cole, and Paul Little.

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Correspondence to Kristin Bilyeu.

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Mention of a trademark, vendor, or proprietary product does not constitute a guarantee or warranty of the product by the USDA or the University of Missouri and does not imply its approval to the exclusion of other products or vendors that may also be suitable.

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11032_2014_46_MOESM1_ESM.pptx

Supplementary Fig. 1 Stearic acid (18:0) distribution for individual lines organized by genotypic classes from the RIL population derived from a cross between RG3 x RG7. Y-axis indicates g kg−1 of stearic acid (18:0) as a proportion of total seed oil. Genotypic classes for the three segregating genes are indicated below the bars. Lower-case line designations indicate homozygosity for mutant alleles, whereas WT indicates homozygosity for wild type alleles (PPTX 39 kb)

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Gillman, J.D., Tetlow, A., Hagely, K. et al. Identification of the molecular genetic basis of the low palmitic acid seed oil trait in soybean mutant line RG3 and association analysis of molecular markers with elevated seed stearic acid and reduced seed palmitic acid. Mol Breeding 34, 447–455 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11032-014-0046-y

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