National Research Centre for Soybean, Khandwa Road, Indore - 452 017, M.P.
*Corresponding author, E-mail: vineetksahni@yahoo.com
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In the present investigation, the accumulation pattern of major fatty acids during seed development in five Indian soybean genotypes (viz. NRC 37, Pb1, Shilajeet, JS 335 and LSb1) at various developmental stages was studied. The observations revealed intervarietal variation in accumulation of different fatty acids except linolenic acid content. Varieties with similar fatty acid composition in mature seeds exhibited different accumulation patterns. The results indicated that total variation for fatty acid composition depended largely on the degree of desaturation from oleic acid to linoleic acid. This may be attributed to the lower activity of fatty acid desaturase that converts oleic to linoleic acid. Latent genetic variation for fatty acid composition observed in developing soybean seeds of different varieties may be exploited by the plant breeders for developing varieties with desirable fatty acid composition.
Developing seeds, fatty acid composition, genetic variability, soybean
