Generation Means Analysis of Oil Concentration in Peanut

The current interest in biodiesel production has resulted in a concurrent interest in increasing the oil concentration in high-yielding cultivars, which could make peanuts (Arachis hypogaea.) more desirable as a biofuel source. Currently, peanut seed is approximately 450 to 500 g kg(-1) oil on a dry weight basis, depending upon location grown, and there is relatively little genetic variation for oil concentration among adapted high-yielding cultivated peanut genotypes. Thus, identifying sources of variation and elucidating the genetics of oil concentration in peanut is essential to advancing the development of high oil genotypes. The objective of this study was to determine the types of gene action governing the inheritance of oil concentration in peanut by generation means analysis. The F-1, F-2, and backcross generations of two different runner peanut crosses segregating for oil concentration were evaluated in College Station, Texas, in 2010. Significant differences in oil concentration among the generations were detected, and generation means analysis revealed significant additive, dominance, and epistatic effects for oil concentration in both crosses. The broad-sense heritability estimates were 0.85 and 0.78, and narrow-sense heritability estimates were 0.55 and 0.53 for each of the crosses. Our data indicate that transgressive segregants for high oil were observed, and there is sufficient additive variation present to improve the oil concentration of current runner cultivars.