Analysis of oil traits in 92 samples of Acer truncatum seeds from Horqin sandy land and screening of superior oil-related individuals

To analyze the variation in oil yield and oil component composition of Acer truncatum seed kernels from Horqin sandy land, and to screen for germplasm resources with high oil value.

This study takes seeds from 92 high-yielding mother trees collected from three provenances in Horqin sandy land as the research subjects. Oil extraction and determination, as well as fatty acid component and content determination, were performed. Variance analysis and correlation analysis were employed to investigate the variation in oil traits and the associations among different traits. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was used to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the oil-related traits of superior trees.

1) The average oil content of the seed kernels of high-yielding superior trees of A. truncatum in Horqin Sandy Land was 46.07%, with a coefficient of variation of 6.33% and a genetic diversity index of 2.05; 2) A total of 14 fatty acid components were detected in the oils, among which linoleic acid had the highest content (33.76%), arachidonic acid had the largest coefficient of variation (48.32%), and behenic acid had the highest genetic diversity index (2.08); 3) The variance component percentage of oil content among populations and within populations was 90.16% and 9.476%, respectively, indicating that the variation mainly originated from among populations. The phenotypic differentiation coefficients for the 14 fatty acid contents ranged from 4.484% to 95.198%, with the highest coefficient observed for nervonic acid and the lowest for arachidic acid; 4) Correlation analysis indicated that oil content was significantly positively correlated with the content of arachidonic acid and stearic acid (P<0.01), and significantly negatively correlated with the content of nervonic acid (P<0.01). There are also complex correlations among the different fatty acid components; 5) The results of the AHP showed that the weight value of seed kernel oil content was 0.286, ranking first in comprehensive weight; among the fatty acid compositions, nervonic acid had the highest comprehensive weight (0.215). The comprehensive scores of the 92 superior individuals of A. truncatum ranged from 0.320 to 0.611.

The genetic diversity of A. truncatum oils in Horqin sandy land is rich, providing a material basis for the screening of oil germplasm resources; Moreover, the genetic differences in oil and nervonic acid content among different superior trees are significant, which provides the possibility for the targeted breeding of varieties with high oil and high nervonic acid content; Preliminary screening identified that the seed kernel oil content and the content of major fatty acid components in CF-6, XA-18, XA-11, CF-11, and XA-20 were all at the forefront. These strains can provide high-quality germplasm resources for the subsequent breeding of oil-related superior.