Isolation of a Natural Mutant in Castor with High Oleic/Low Ricinoleic Acid Content in the Oil
2004
Rojas-Barros, Pilar | de Haro, Antonio | Muñoz, Juan | Fernández-Martínez, José María
Castor (Ricinus communis L.) oil is characterized by high levels of ricinoleic acid content (about 900 g kg⁻¹) and low levels of oleic acid (about 30 g kg⁻¹). A total of 191 accessions of a germplasm collection of castor were evaluated for oil content and fatty acid composition of the seed oil with an attempt to widen the variability for these traits in this species. As a result of this evaluation, the natural mutant line OLE-1 with approximately 780 g kg⁻¹ of oleic acid, compared with 40 g kg⁻¹ of the standard castor oil, was identified. The dramatic increase in oleic acid was accompanied by a decrease in the level of ricinoleic acid to 140 g kg⁻¹, compared with 870 g kg⁻¹ in normal plants, and only very small changes in the proportions of other fatty acids. These proportions of oleic acid and ricinoleic acid are respectively the highest and the lowest yet reported in stable genotypes of castor. OLE-1 is a promising source of high oleic acid levels with potential industrial and food applications requiring very high oxidative stability and may be also useful for studying the biosynthesis and genetics of ricinoleic acid content in castor.
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