Summary
Seeds of Linum usitatissimum cv. Glenelg were treated with either gamma-rays or EMS in an attempt to induce mutations with a lower level of linolenic acid in linseed oil. Two mutant lines were identified in which linolenic acid constituted approximately 29% of the total fatty acid content compared with 43% in seed oil from untreated Glenelg plants. The reduced level of linolenic acid in the mutants is accompanied by an increase in the level of linoleic acid to 30% compared with 18% in Glenelg, but there was no change in the proportions of other fatty acids. These proportions of linolenic acid and linolenic acid are respectively the highest and lowest yet reported in stable genotypes of L. usitatissimum. The strong inverse relationship between these two fatty acids in these genotypes suggests that linolenic acid is synthesised by desaturation of linolenic acid and indicates that it may be possible to breed an edible linseed oil having both low levels of linolenic acid and high levels of linolenic acid.
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Green, A.G., Marshall, D.R. Isolation of induced mutants in linseed (Linum usitatissimum) having reduced linolenic acid content. Euphytica 33, 321–328 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00021128
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00021128