Lupinus mutabilis, alkaloid, genetics, mutal, new mutant allele . SUMMARY A new mutant allele, described here as mutal, which reduces the alkaloid content in dry matter of lupinus mutabilis has been identified following seed treatment with ethyl methane sulphanate . The allele, when homozygous, reduces the alkaloid content from levels of > 2 .0 per cent found in seed dry matter of existing populations to 0 .2-0 .3 per cent and produces plants with vegetative and seed tissues that are organolepticallỳ sweet' . Component alkaloids in plants homozygous for mural differ in respect of the percentage composition of sparteine and of lupanine, as well as possibly of oxa-sparteine and 4-hydroxylupanine, but none is eliminated in genotypes homozygous for the mutant allele . Alkaloid concentration, in so far as not under the control of mutal, has low heritability but lines were isolated following two generations of successive selection which possessed reduced alkaloid levels . These were interpreted to have arisen as a result of recombination of alleles affecting reduction in alkaloid level at several loci . the mutant, mutal, has been established in a pure breeding line which represents a crucial additional step in the evolution of Lupinus mutabilis towards full status as a crop plant .
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