Ecker, R., Department of Ornamental Horticulture, The Volcani Center, POB 6, Bet Dagan, Israel
Yaniv, Z., Department of Field Crops, Agricultural Research Organization, The Volcani Center, POB 6, Bet Dagan, Israel

Inheritance of fatty acid composition was studied in an F1 diallel cross in Sinapis alba. Crosses were made among accessions having contrasting amounts of oleic (C18:1) and erucic (C22:1) acid. Concentrations of oleic, linoleic (C18:2), eicosenoic (C20:1) and erucic (C22:1) acids were determined by gas-chromatography for each mating combination. Genetic analysis confirmed that the composition of the fatty acids was controlled mainly by the nuclear genes of the embryo. Additive gene action with partial dominance for the reducing alleles was noted for oleic and linoleic acids, while erucic acid showed an additive mode of inheritance with partial dominance for the enhancing alleles. Positive heterosis was demonstrated for eicosenoic acid content. Erucic acid content was strongly negatively correlated with oleic acid, suggesting a genetic interdependence between the two fatty acids. Broad-sense and narrow-sense heritability estimates for each of oleic, linoleic and erucic acids were very high, due to low between-plants non-genetic component of variance. © 1993 Kluwer Academic Publishers.