Biochemical and genetical study of quality and fatty acid composition of different high oil maize inbreds

Abstract

Kernels of four inbred lines of Zea mays L. and their reciprocal hybrids were examined in search for a possible correlation between oil and protein contents, scutellum size and scutellum quality parameters to find an applicable selection method for quality breeding. The oil and protein contents were determined in both intact kernels and excised scutellum and the results suggested that selecting for increased scutellum size could result in inbred lines with improved quality. From the analysis of the fatty acid composition of the lines and their reciprocal crosses, it could be concluded that a wide range of genetic variation existed in the genotypes studied, giving the possibility to modify the fatty acid composition of maize oil according to the special needs of human nutrition.