A Novel Allele of GmSACPD‐C Associated with High Seed Stearic Acid Concentration in an EMS‐Induced Mutant PE980 in Soybean

Abstract

Stearic acid is a relatively minor component of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] seed oil. Increasing the stearic acid concentration is desired for industrial and food applications, as well as enhanced oxidative stability of the oil. Several ethyl methane sulfonate (EMS)‐induced mutants with elevated seed stearic acid concentration have been reported in soybean. Such mutants were often found to carry alterations in the GmSACPD‐C gene encoding Δ9‐stearoyl‐acyl carrier protein‐desaturase, the enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of stearic acid to oleic acid in the fatty acid biosynthetic pathway. In the present study, we identified a new GmSACPD‐C allele in an EMS‐induced high‐stearic‐acid mutant PE980. The mutant showed a seed stearic acid concentration of ∼160 g kg−1, fourfold that of the wild‐type ‘Pungsannamul’. A single base substitution from guanine to adenine at genomic position 703 of first exon of the GmSACPD‐C gene was identified through sequencing, and validated by cosegregation analysis of 167 F2 plants using an allele‐specific SimpleProbe marker. The mutation caused a valine to methionine (+70 position) change in the predicted GmSACPD‐Cprotein sequence. The sequence alignments and three‐dimensional structure modeling of GmSACPD‐C showed that the V70M mutation affects substrate binding and dimerization to reduce enzyme activity. Since the mutant showed significant reductions in seed yield compared with the wild type, marker‐assisted backcrossing may be needed to reduce the yield gap.

Improving Seed Quality of Soybean Suitable for Growing in Europe

“…Lowering saturates makes oil more suitable for the food industry and consumers concerned about dietary health issues such as high cholesterol and increased risk of coronary heart disease usually associated with diets high in saturated fats [120]. However, as stearic acid is thought to be heart neutral [121], increasing its content could satisfy the market demand for healthier foods without compromising desired functional qualities contributed by saturated fats [122]. Unsaturated fatty acids can be monounsaturated (MUFA), such as oleic acid (n-9, omega-9), or polyunsaturated (PUFA), such as linoleic (n-6, omega-6) and linolenic (n-3, omega-3) acids.…”

Soybean genetics, genomics, and breeding for improving nutritional value and reducing antinutritional traits in food and feed

“…Soybean oil with high oleic acid (>70%) is also associated with enhanced oxidative stability and nutritional value without the health-threatening trans-fatty acids generated through partial hydrogenation (Bilyeu et al, 2018;Combs & Bilyeu, 2019;Fehr, 2007). Stearic acid content is important not only for oxidative stability but also for the bakery industry because it increases the melting point of fat preventing melting at The Plant Genome room temperature (Jeong et al, 2018). Therefore, genetic approaches have proved to be an efficient tool for reducing PUFAs and improving the functionality of soybean oil without negative properties (Clemente & Cahoon, 2009).…”

Agronomic Traits of a New Soybean Germplasm with Higher Ratio of Four-seeded Pods

“…Mutation breeding with chemical mutagens has been successfully increased novel genetic diversity in soybeans (Carrol et al 1985;Hoffman et al 1999;Kim et al 2015;Jeong et al 2018;Thapa et al 2018;Jo et al 2021). The benefit of mutation breeding is that mutations in the genome are heritable in subsequent generations of crops.…”