Location: Crop Production and Pest Control Research
Project Number: 5020-21000-008-001-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Jan 1, 2015
End Date: Dec 31, 2019
Objective:
The overall objective of this project is to to determine the viability of the high stearic acid trait in soybean seed oil. The project will determine which genes in combination with mutant alleles of the soybean SACPD-C gene will create a stable oil profile with greater than 20% stearic acid and less than 3% linolenic acid. The cooperator will discover the genetic basis for the high stearic acid trait in the current mutant collection, develop molecular markers for high stearate genes, make genetic crosses to combine the high stearate trait with the high oleic acid and low linoleic acid traits, and determine the stability and any associated yield drag of the trait across different environments.
Approach:
The laboratory previously identified a modifier of the SACPD-C gene that results in greater than 20% of the seed oil fraction as stearic acid. Conventional genetic approaches as well as cutting edge bioinformatic approaches will be used to determine the identity of the modifying locus. Genetic crosses will be used to combine existing alleles of SACPD-C (identified from the mutant collection) with alleles of genes that modify oleic and linoleic acid content. Seed composition will be evaluated in the F2 and F3 generation for the double mutants. Winter nursery and greenhouse cycles will be used to accelerate the production of stable homozygous double- and triple- mutants in the shortest possible time. Yield and agronomic properties (seed size, seed number, emergence) will be evaluated at multiple Indiana growing locations.
