Increasing erucic acid content in Ethiopian mustard through mutation breeding

Ethylmethane sulphonate (EMS) was applied to seeds of the Ethiopian mustard (Brassica carinata A. Braun) line C‐101. Bulk samples of M3 seeds from 8331 M2 plants were evaluated for the fatty acid composition of their oil by near‐infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) and by further gas chromatography on selected samples. A putative mutant, N2‐6230, showing very low oleic acid content (4.7% vs. average of 8.6% in C‐101) and erucic acid content within the range of variation of the line C‐101 (40‐49.3%) was identified. The M3 progeny of this mutant showed a wide segregation for erucic acid content (39.1‐57.9% vs. 41.8‐50.3% in C‐101), and maintained levels of oleic acid lower than in line C‐101. Selection for high erucic acid content in the M3 and M4 generations led to the fixation of this mutation in the M5 generation (52.2‐59.3% vs. 39.0‐47.6% in C‐101). This is the first high erucic acid line obtained in Brassica species through mutation breeding. Its utility in future programmes to develop very high erucic acid lines is discussed.