Camelina sativa: For Biofuels and Bioproducts - Industrial Crops: Breeding for BioEnergy and Bioproducts - page 158

is important in irrigated situations [ 16 ]. Camelina has also shown allelopathic
relationships with flax, Linum usitatissimum, under controlled conditions [ 17 , 18 ].
Camelina is well suited to growth in low-moisture environments. The minimum
water requirement for camelina to reach its maximum yield potential has been
calculated to be 333 to 422 mm in Arizona [ 7 ]. The required minimum irrigation
varies with climatic conditions and evapotranspiration rate. Below this minimum,
yields are negatively affected. Irrigating above the minimum does not show any
positive effect on seed yields and has been shown to only raise evapotranspiration
of the plant [ 19 ]. The root zone of camelina is relatively shallow compared to
wheat, reaching a maximum depth of 1.4 m [ 19 , 20 ].

Taxonomy and Domestication

The name camelina is derived from the Greek words chamai (dwarf) and linion
(flax) [ 21 ]. The center of origin of camelina is thought to be Europe. Ghamkahar
et al. [ 22 ] used amplified length fragment polymorphism (AFLP) to assess genetic
diversity among accessions collected in different geographic locations. They found
that Russia and Ukraine are likely a center of origin of the species due to the higher
level of diversity among accessions from these areas.
The species Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz and its wild relatives, which include
C. microcarpa and C. linicola, have been reported by humans since the Bronze Age
(1500-400 B.C.) [ 1 ]. Wild camelina species are present throughout North America
and likely arrived as contaminants of flax and other agricultural products from
Europe [ 23 ]. Wild accessions of Camelina microcarpa have been found that are
resistant to ALS herbicides [ 24 ]. In Montana, there are over 120 varieties found in
the wild [ 25 ].

Genetic Resources

Camelina ploidy varies among accessions. Camelina has been observed to have a
chromosome count of 2 n

¼ 12 to 2 n ¼ 40 [ 23 ]. The most common count has been

observed to be 2 n 40 [ 26 ]. Analysis of the activity of desaturation and elongation

genes has revealed Camelina sativa to be an allohexaploid [ 27 ].
The genetic diversity of existing camelina germplasm is relatively low.
Vollmann et al. [ 28 ] analyzed a subset of 41 accessions of camelina using randomly
amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers. They found that these accessions
were also classified into four main groups based on the seed weight, oil content, and
protein content, which suggested a low level of diversity among these accessions.
Diversity of available camelina germplasm can be supplemented with accessions
recently made available from Eastern European collections formerly inaccessible to
Western researchers. Analysis of camelina accessions from Russia and Ukraine

¼