FATTY-ACID COMPOSITIONS OF MAIZE RACES FROM CENTRAL AND SOUTH-AMERICA

The variation of kernel fatty acid composition was surveyed in 121 rac es of maize from Central and South America and 8 races from allied spe cies. Total fatty acids were extracted, methylesterified and analyzed by gas-liquid chromatography (GLC). The average fatty acid composition of the samples was similar to that of US domestic varieties. However, individual races showed a great deal of diversity; 29 races had at le ast one fatty acid that varied by more than 1 standard deviation from the average. The most extreme values ranged from 1.7 (low stearic) to 4.7 (high palmitic) standard deviations from the average. In pairwise comparisons, oleic acid content was found to be negatively correlated (-0.95) to linoleic acid content in the kernel. Linolenic acid content was also negatively correlated to oleic acid content and positively c orrelated to linoleic acid content, but only weakly (-0.44 and 0.45 re spectively). No significant correlation was found between races with d ifferent endosperm types (e.g. flint corn) and fatty acid composition; the same was true for kernel weight, country of origin and elevation. The spread of the fatty acid compositions found indicates that these races may be useful as germplasm for producing lines with modified oil compositions and for QTL studies.