ABSTRACT
Enhancing productivity and fatty acid profiles in sesame through induced mutagenesis with Gamma irradiation and sodium azide

Noura M. Yousri1, Said S. Soliman1, Uthman Balgith Algopishi2, Mohammed Alqurashi3, Areej S. Jalal4, Eman Fayad3, Jameel M. Al-Khayri5*, Fatmah Ahmed Safhi4, Nora M. Al Aboud6, and Abdallah A. Hassanin1*
 
Enhancing seed and oil productivity using gamma irradiation and sodium azide provides a promising approach for developing superior genotypes. This study employed induced mutation breeding using gamma irradiation (100, 200, 400 Gy) and sodium azide (NaN3, 0.001 M, 0.002 M, 0.003 M) on three sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) genotypes (Red sesame, White sesame, and ‘Shandaweel3’) to develop superior lines with enhanced seed and oil productivity. From the M1 generation, 89 morphologically distinct mutants were identified in the M2 generation, leading to the selection of 14 promising M3 mutants based on days to maturity, plant height, capsule number, seed count per capsule, seed weight, and overall yield. Early-maturing mutants (VER1, EW9, EW12, EW3) were identified as potential candidates for short-season or drought-prone areas, while shorter genotypes (White-Seeds, EW11, HNCW8) could facilitate mechanized harvesting and dense planting. Taller mutants (ER2, VESh1, Red-Seeds, HNCR4, ESh3, EW9) showed potential for higher yields. The promising mutants VESh1, ESh4, ER2, and HNCR4 combined high capsule counts, seed setting, and seed weight, indicating yield improvement potential. Fatty acid profiles revealed significant diversity: Red genotype had high linoleic acid (60.27%), but mutant ER2 showed reduced linoleic acid (5.34%) and unique presence of palmitoleic and lignoceric acids. HNCR4 had the highest linoleic acid (70.30%) and contained these fatty acids. White seeds also had high linoleic acid (60.50%), with mutant EW12 showing a large decrease (8.78%). HNCW8 had the lowest linoleic acid (5.53%) but uniquely contained cerotic acid. ‘Shandaweel3’ and its mutants showed varied fatty acid contents. These results demonstrated the effectiveness of mutation breeding for improving sesame yield and quality.
Keywords: Fatty acid content, genotypic variation, induced mutagenesis, multivariate analysis, mutation breeding.
1Zagazig University, Faculty of Agriculture, Genetics Department, Zagazig 44511, Egypt.
2King Khalid University, College of Science, Department of Biology, Abha 61413, Saudi Arabia.
3Taif University, College of Sciences, Department of Biotechnology, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia.
4Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, College of Science, Department of Biology, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia.
5King Faisal University, College of Agriculture and Food Sciences, Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia.
6Umm Al-Qura University, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, Makkah 24382, Saudi Arabia.
*Corresponding authors (asafan@zu.edu.eg, jkhayri@kfu.edu.sa)