Genotypic effect of ahFAD2 on fatty acid profiles in six segregating peanut (Arachis hypogaea L) populations.

Background Fatty acid composition of oil extracted from peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) seed is an important quality trait because it may affect the flavor and shelf life of resulting food products. In particular, a high ratio of oleic (C18:1) relative to linoleic (C18:2) fatty acid (O/L ≥ 10) results in a longer shelf life. Previous reports suggest that the high oleic (~80%) trait was controlled by recessive alleles of ahFAD2A and ahFAD2B, the former of which is thought to have a high frequency in US runner- and virginia-type cultivars. Functional mutations, G448A in ahFAD2A and 442insA in ahFAD2B eliminate or knock down desaturase activity and have been demonstrated to produce peanut oil with high O/L ratios. In order to employ marker assisted selection (MAS) to select a high oleic disease resistant peanut and to evaluate genotypic and phenotypic variation, crosses were made between high oleic (~80%) and normal oleic (~50%) peanuts to produce segregating populations.