The Use of Wild Relatives of Safflower to Increase Genetic Diversity for Fatty Acid Composition and Drought Tolerance

Abstract

Wild relatives of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) may contribute genes to improve cultivated species under water stress conditions. This study was conducted to increase genetic diversity of safflower for agromorphological traits and fatty acid profiles using interspecific hybridization. Three species—C. tinctorius, C. palaestinus Eig., and C. oxyacanthus M. Bieb.—were used to develop three segregating populations of C. tinctorius × C. palaestinus (TP), C. oxyacanthus × C. palaestinus (OP), and C. oxyacanthus × C. palaestinus (TO). Seventy‐three lines, along with the three parental species, were evaluated for agromorphological traits under water stress and nonstress conditions in F3 and F4 generations during 2 yr. Fatty acid analysis of interspecific progenies showed occurrence of transgressive segregation. The results showed that mean values of seed yield for TP and TO progenies, where C. tinctorius was one of their parents, were higher than mean value of seed yield for OP that derived from the two wild species. High genetic variation was observed for seed yield, capitulum diameter, and phenological traits in interspecific populations under both moisture conditions. Indirect selection for flowering and seed yield components under water deficit conditions was most efficient to improve seed yield. Results indicated that gene introgression from wild relatives of safflower into the cultivated gene pool increased genetic variation for the measured traits and allowed identifying superior genotypes for future breeding programs.

Genetic analysis of safflower populations under water stress and nonstress conditions

“…This finding agrees well with those reported by Janmohammadi et al. (2017) and Shahrokhnia and Sepaskhah (2017), who indicated the negative effects of drought stress on physiological and agronomic traits in safflower.…”

“…The high genetic variability detected for all the traits measured in this study has been reported elsewhere (Amini, Saeidi, & Arzani, 2008;Moradi & Ehsanzadeh, 2015;Shafiei-Koij et al, 2019); this is promising because the variability observed is essential for further genetic analysis and genetic improvement programs. On the other hand, the highly significant effects of the irrigation regimes revealed that all the measured traits were adversely influenced by water deficit.…”

“…Safflower ( Carthamus tinctorius L.) can be cultivated in many parts of the world due to its tolerance to environmental stresses such as salinity and drought (Movahhedy‐Dehnavy, Modarres‐Sanavy, & Mokhtassi‐Bidgoli, 2009; Shahrokhnia & Sepaskhah, 2017). According to the FAO, the areas with the greatest safflower cultivation in 2017 were Kazakhstan, Russia, and India; Iran was ranked fourteenth.…”

“…Although safflower has been adapted to arid regions and has been considered as a drought‐tolerant species, severe or prolonged drought, especially at flowering stage, can significantly decrease its economic yield (Movahhedy‐Dehnavy et al., 2009; Zareie, Mohammadi‐Nejad, & Sardouie‐Nasab, 2013). Numerous studies have also shown considerable reductions in seed yield and its components in safflower as a result of drought stress (Espanani, Majidi, Saeidi, Alaei, & Rezaei, 2019; Shahrokhnia & Sepaskhah, 2017; Singh, Angadi, Hilaire, Grover, & Vanleeuwen, 2016). Therefore, it is essential to develop safflower cultivars that can be successfully cultivated in arid and semi‐arid areas.…”

Morphological description, genetic diversity and population structure of safflower (Carthamus tinctoriusL.) mini core collection using SRAP and SSR markers

“…Yield-components such as number of seeds per plant, number of capitula per plant, 1000-seed weight and number of capitula per plant are known as significantly positive traits for yield increasing in safflower [14,47], therefore combined selection criteria from these characteristics can efficiently improve the selection processes in breeding programs [14]. The safflower genotypes were selected for this study based on their field performance in a collection of $500 safflower accessions from diverse geographical origins.…”