Introgressive hexaploid oats from the Avena abyssinica (♀) × A. sativa hybrid: performance, grain lipids and proteins

A fertile hexaploid oat plant was obtained after several generations of selection for seed set and plant type from a colchicine-produced decaploid hybrid, Avena abyssinica(2n = 4x = 28, AABB) × A. sativa (2n = 6x = 42, AACCDD). The selected line proved to be stably fertile and in many characteristics equal or superior to the hexaploid parent. The grain protein fractions showed two qualitative differences from those of the pollen parent and several differences from the maternal parent. The fractionating extraction used was new for oats. The fatty acid composition of grains of the hybrid derivative was similar to that of the pollen parent, but different from that of the maternal parent. The maternal parent (A. abyssinica) had a relatively high 16:0 fatty acid content (ca. 20.5 mol%) compared with the level of the hexaploid parent and the hybrid derivation (ca. 17.5 mol% each) in field-grown grain. However, in grain produced in the greenhouse, the hexaploids had ca. 20.5 mol% of 16:0 fatty acid and a decrease in 18:1 fatty acid, whereas seed of the A. abyssinica parent showed only a slight increase (ca.21.5 mol%) in 16:0 fatty acid. These and other responses statistically significant may be due to adaptation to temperature conditions being wider in the hexaploids than in the East-African A. abyssinica. A new method of grain lipid extraction was introduced and showed good reproducibility. The derived hexaploid oat can be crossed with A. sativa for breeding purposes and due to its early maturity might also have direct use in northern or high-altitude cultivation.