Wednesday, November 15, 2006
273-6
Variation in Seed Oil Content of the USDA Lesquerella fendleri Germplasm Collection.
Maria Jenderek1, David Dierig2, and G. Dahlquist2. (1) NALPGRU, USDA, ARS, 9611 S Riverbend Ave., Parlier, CA 93648, (2) U.S. ALARC, USDA, ARS, 21881 N. Cardon Lane, Maricopa, AZ 85239
Lesquerella is considered as an important industrial crop due to hydroxy fatty acid (HFA) content in the seeds. The HFA such as lesquerolic, densipolic and auricolic acids may be used in plastics, surfactants, cosmetics and biolubricants. Lesquerella (Brassicaceae) species are native to North and South America, and many of them occur in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The species with the most agronomic interest, L. fendleri (A. Gray) S. Watson, is found in semi arid environments (average annual rainfall ranging from 250 to 400 mm). The objective of the study was to describe the total oil content in seeds of the USDA, NPGS L. fendleri germplasm collection. The oil concentration was determined using a pulsed NMR. In the over 100 accessions analyzed, the lowest oil content (%) was observed in PI 641920 and the highest in W6 20859 (14.0 and 28.2 % respectively). Analysis of the hydroxy fatty acids profile is in progress. Characterization of morphological and phonological traits may be found at www.ars-grin.gov.