Enhancing Food Security via selecting Superior Camelina (Camelina sativa L.) parents: a positive approach incorporating pheno-morphological traits, fatty acids composition, and Tocopherols Content

Abstract Background Preserving plant genetic resources is essential for tackling global food security challenges. Effectively meeting future agricultural demands requires comprehensive and efficient assessments of genetic diversity in breeding programs and germplasm from gene banks. This research investigated the diversity of pheno-morphological traits, along with the fatty acid and tocopherol content and composition, in 135 double haploid lines of camelina. Results The number of sub-branches, siliques number of main-branch and sub-branch, and seeds number in siliques of the main-branch displayed notable coefficients of variation with values of 33.19%, 30.32%, 29.23%, and 23.81% respectively. Within the current investigation, the measurements of height, sub-branch number, and thousand seed weight varied from 53.50 to 86.50 cm, 3.50 to 14, and 0.73 to 1.52 g, respectively. The analysis unveiled that the average content of omega-3, omega-6, and omega-9 fatty acids in the examined lines was approximately 33%, 20%, and 17%, respectively. The total tocopherol content varied between 675 and 877 ppm, predominantly consisting of gamma-tocopherol, which accounted for over 95% of the total content. The fatty acid C18:2 displayed a markedly strong positive correlation with alpha-tocopherol (0.99**), while C18:3 exhibited positive correlations with gamma-tocopherol (0.98**) and total tocopherol (0.98**). Furthermore, a positive correlation was evident between C20:1 and delta-tocopherol (0.98**). The scrutinized lines, specifically lines 35, 72, 94, and 126 demonstrated notable attributes regarding yield and yield components. Conversely, in the realm of biochemical traits, lines 35, 66, 47, 30, 65, 135, 83, 27, 4, 77, 62, 81, and 93 stood out for their elevated potential. The gene expression analysis related to the tocopherol biosynthesis pathway revealed distinct expression patterns. Specifically, the VTE1 gene exhibited the highest level of expression. In contrast, the VTE3 gene displayed the lowest level of expression compared to other genes. Conclusions The study’s findings hold great potential for improving food security by enabling the selection of superior camelina parent plants based on specific traits. This approach can drive the development of high-yielding varieties with enhanced nutritional value and better-quality camelina oil.