Fatty Acid Composition and Distribution in Wild Soybean (Glycine soja) Seeds Collected in Japan

Abstract

Background: Understanding the distribution of fatty acids in wild soybean accession collected in Japan and the relationship of geographic and environmental factors in the accumulation of fatty acids is fundamental for using the wild accessions as resources for the future development and selection of new soybean varieties with desired traits. Materials and Methods: The fatty acid composition of seeds from 319 wild soybean (Glycine soja) accessions collected in Japan were evaluated using gas chromatography. Results: The distributions of palmitate (16:0), stearate (18:0), oleate (18:1), linoleate (18:2) and "-linolenate (18:3) in seeds were determined for each accession. Significant inverse correlations were observed between the oleate and "-linolenate contents and the linoleate and "-linolenate contents. Moreover, a weak inverse correlation between the stearate and "-linolenate contents was indicated and an inverse correlation between the palmitate and linoleate contents was also found. The total palmitate content and total stearate content of Glycine soja collected from regions with high annual temperatures were high and the total "-linolenate content of Glycine soja collected from regions with a low annual temperature was high. Conclusion: These results provide diverse and wide-ranged fatty acid information of Japanese wild soybean resources according to climatic region for improving of new soybean varieties in global environmental changes.