Brassica juncea is a crucial cultivated mustard species and principal oilseed crop of India and Madhya Pradesh, grown for diverse vegetables, condiments, and oilseeds. Somaclonal variation was explored as a probable source of additional variability for the manipulation of fatty acids, especially low erucic acid contents that may be valuable for this commercially important plant species. The plantlets regenerated from tissue cultures (R0), their R1 generation and respective parental lines were compared for morpho-physiological traits and fatty acid profile for the probable existence of somaclonal variations. The first putative somaclone derived from genotype CS54 contained 5.48% and 5.52% erucic acid in R0 and R1 regenerants, respectively, compared to the mother plant (41.36%). In comparison, the second somaclone acquired from PM30 exhibited a complete absence of erucic acid corresponding to its mother plant (1.07%). These putative somaclones present a source of variation for exploitation in the development of future mustard crops with low erucic acid content.
Keywords: Indian mustard; callus culture; cell suspension culture; erucic acid; somaclones.