Quantitative Trait Variation in Self- and Cross-Fertilized Seeds of Jatropha curcas L.: Parental Effects of Genotypes and Genetic Pools

Abstract

Jatropha curcas L. (jatropha) is an undomesticated plant with a high potential for sustainable production of biofuels in the tropics and subtropics. Oil content, seed mass, kernel mass, and the ratio of kernel to seed mass are important traits for breeding. These traits could potentially be improved by exploitation of parental effects. Besides, parental effects could be used to separate self-from cross-fertilized seeds and increase the efficiency of hybrid seed production. The main goal of this study was to assess the variation of quantitative seed traits (oil content, seed mass, kernel mass, and ratio of kernel to seed mass) in a panel of self-and cross-fertilized seeds from a genetically diverse germplasm. We analyzed a set of 31 genotypes (12 self-and 19 cross-fertilized genotypes) originated by combination of parental components from 2 different genetic pools (pool A: phorbol ester absence; pool B: phorbol ester present). We found strong significant effects of parental components and genetic pools on most seeds traits. Although the variation in oil content among single seeds was very large, some specific combinations of parental components showed promise to be exploited for rapid and automatized identification and classification of self-and cross-fertilized seeds. We conclude that parental effects need to be considered for breeding and cultivar production.

High‐Throughput Precision Phenotyping of the Oil Content of Single Seeds of Various Oilseed Crops

“…A similar application relates to sorting of seeds originating from cross‐ versus self‐pollination in jatropha, because no biological mechanism for controlled production of hybrid seeds is yet available in this species. As a solution, Montes et al (2015) proposed to sort hybrid and selfed seeds from matings of male and female parental components with high and low OC, respectively, using the same principles as described for maize. Thus, the prospects for a wide spectrum of applications of the platform for various crops and applications in plant breeding are very promising and may even be further extended in the future.…”

“…It can increase selection response for OC in maize ( Zea mays L.) (Silvela et al, 1989) and is routinely applied in canola ( Brassica napus L.) breeding programs (Niewitetzki et al, 2010). Besides selection in segregating generations, OC of single seeds was proposed as a diagnostic tool in production of doubled haploids in maize (Melchinger et al, 2013, 2015) and hybrid seed in jatropha ( Jatropha curcas L.) (Montes et al, 2015).…”