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Mutations in the soybean 3-ketoacyl-ACP synthase gene are correlated with high levels of seed palmitic acid

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Abstract

A complete understanding of the biosynthetic pathways involved in the formation of seed oils is an important step in the development of lines with useful oil profiles. Soybean oil has a number of industrial applications and is also a source of edible oils for human consumption. The elongation of palmitic acid to stearic acid by the 3-ketoacyl-ACP synthase II (KASII) enzyme represents a branch point in the pathway of oil biosynthesis in soybean. Three mutant soybean lines were identified which contained elevated levels of palmitic acid ranging from 12.9 to 15.6%. Candidate gene sequencing in these lines revealed that all three contain nucleotide changes in the coding sequence for the KASIIa gene. One mutation caused an early termination in the third exon of KASIIa, and two mutations resulted in amino acid changes in the KASIIa protein. These new mutant alleles of soybean KASIIa may be useful to fine-tune the composition of soybean seed oil using molecular breeding approaches.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the USDA-ARS Functional Foods Research Unit in Peoria, Illinois for seed composition analysis. Funding for this work was provided through the USDA-ARS Current Research Information System 3602-21000-006-00D. Product names are necessary to report factually on available data. However the USDA neither guarantees nor warrants the standard of the product, and use of the names implies no approval of the product to the exclusion of others that may also be suitable.

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  1. Katie Head

    Present address: University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, 75390-8573, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Agronomy, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA

    Katie Head, Tim Galos & Yuanjin Fang

  2. USDA-ARS Crop Production and Pest Control Research Unit, 915 West State Street, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA

    Karen Hudson

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  1. Katie Head
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  2. Tim Galos
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  3. Yuanjin Fang
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  4. Karen Hudson
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Correspondence to Karen Hudson.

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Head, K., Galos, T., Fang, Y. et al. Mutations in the soybean 3-ketoacyl-ACP synthase gene are correlated with high levels of seed palmitic acid. Mol Breeding 30, 1519–1523 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11032-012-9707-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11032-012-9707-x

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