A Dominant Gene for White Seed Coat in Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.)

Abstract

The color of the testa, or outer layer of the seed coat, is an important attribute of many crop species, especially those in which the whole seed is utilized for human food, such as the peanut (Arachis hypogaea L). The inheritance of the testa color of two Pearl Early Runner (PER) peanut lines (PER-4 and PER-5) derived from an off-type plant found in an ‘Early Runner’ seed field at Gainesville, Florida, in 1966 was studied. Six crosses were made using as parents two white-seeded PER selections and the following genotypes with colored seed coats: ‘Early Bunch,’ ‘Rorunner,’ UF74106, UF78114, and UF783209 from the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station; and ‘NC5’ from the North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station. The F₂ outer seed coat generations (F₃ embryo generations) segregated in a 3 white: 1 pink or red ratio. Apparently, this white seed coat source is controlled by a single gene which is dominant over pink and red in the lines studied. Previously, a white outer seed coat had been reported to be recessive to all pigmented types.