ARS | Publication request: Genetic and phenotypic diversity in camelina germplasm

Submitted to: Association for the Advancement of Industrial Crops Conference
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: November 12, 2012
Publication Date: November 12, 2012
Citation: Ayala-Diaz, I.M., Isbell, T., Marek, L., Westgate, M., Johnson, B., Parkin, I., Gardner, C.A. 2012. Genetic and phenotypic diversity in camelina germplasm [abstract]. Association for the Advancement of Industrial Crops Conference. p. 9.

Technical Abstract: Camelina is a new crop targeted for agronomic systems across the Midwest. Camelina is a promising bioenergy crop fitting the requirements for the biodiesel industry, especially for production of JP-5 fuel used in the aircraft industry. Moreover, its fatty acid profile satisfies the standards for nutraceutical and animal feed uses. Thirty-five accessions of camelina from the USDA-ARS-NCRPIS germplasm collection were selected based on geographic representation. The germplasm was evaluated in three environments during the years 2010 and 2011 in a randomized complete block design. Oil content from harvested seed was determined by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and fatty acid profiles by gas chromatography (GC). Genetic diversity was assessed by simple-sequence repeats markers (SSR). 74 SSR were tested to determine the diversity among camelina accessions. A principal component analysis (PCA) and an UPGMA dendogram were developed from the genetic distance matrix and used to evaluate the genetic relatedness amongst camelina accessions. Camelina accessions showed significant variation in oil content (30-40%). The main fatty acid profile also shows large variations, linoleic acid ranged from 16.2 to 27.6% and linolenic acid content ranged from 28.7 to 43.5%. Linoleic and linolenic content were negatively correlated. A phenotypic dendogram (Ward method) shows relationships within and among seven groups of accessions based on their seed yield, oil concentration, and oil quality. The variation in fatty acid composition and oil content allows selection of promising accessions to amplify the genetic base in camelina enhancement programs. The results will be used as a tool to aid genetic collection management, and to provide insights on whether collection quality would be improved by expanded new accessions and whether selection of divergent accessions for breeding programs is appropriate.