Low saturated-fat sunflower and associated methods

1. A seed of a sunflower cultivar, wherein the fatty acid composition of the oil in the seed comprises 3.0% or less total combined palmitic acid and stearic acid, wherein the genome of the sunflower seed and the seed oil obtained therefrom comprises the polynucleotide of SEQ ID NO:13, wherein the nucleotide at position 60 of the polynucleotide is a cytosine (C), the nucleotide at position 181 of the polynucleotide is a guanine (G), the nucleotide at position 258 of the polynucleotide is a cytosine (C), and the nucleotide at position 261 of the polynucleotide is a thymine (T).

2. A sunflower plant, or a part thereof, produced by growing the seed of claim 1 , wherein the genome of the sunflower plant or part thereof comprises the polynucleotide of SEQ ID NO: 13, wherein the nucleotide at position 60 of the polynucleotide is a cytosine (C), the nucleotide at position 181 of the polynucleotide is a guanine (G), the nucleotide at position 258 of the polynucleotide is a cytosine (C), and the nucleotide at position 261 of the polynucleotide is a thymine (T), and wherein a seed produced from said sunflower plant, or a part thereof comprises said fatty acid composition of the oil and has said polynucleotide of SEQ ID NO: 13.

3. A sunflower inbred plant of a sunflower cultivar stabilized for seed oil comprising 3.3% or less total combined palmitic acid and stearic acid content, wherein the genome of said sunflower inbred plant, and seed oil obtained thereof comprises the polynucleotide of SEQ ID NO: 13, wherein the nucleotide at position 60 of the polynucleotide is a cytosine (C), the nucleotide at position 181 of the polynucleotide is a guanine (G), the nucleotide at position 258 of the polynucleotide is a cytosine (C), and the nucleotide at position 261 of the polynucleotide is a thymine (T).

4. The sunflower inbred plant stabilized for seed oil according to claim 3 , wherein the seed oil comprises a total combined palmitic acid and stearic acid content of less than 3%.

5. The sunflower inbred plant of claim 3 , wherein the sunflower inbred plant is further stabilized for herbicide resistance and the resistance is conferred to an herbicide selected from the group consisting of imidazolinone, sulfonylurea, glyphosate, glufosinate, L-phosphinothricin, triazine, Clearfield, Dicamba, 2,4-D, and benzonitrile.

6. An inbred sunflower seed of the sunflower inbred plant of claim 3 , wherein the oil content of the seed comprises 3.3% or less total combined palmitic acid and stearic acid.

7. The inbred sunflower seed of claim 6 , wherein the total combined palmitic acid and stearic acid content is less than 3%.

8. A method for producing a hybrid sunflower seed, the method comprising crossing the sunflower inbred plant of claim 3 with another, different sunflower plant and obtaining said hybrid sunflower seed, and wherein said hybrid sunflower seed has said seed oil and said polynucleotide of SEQ ID NO: 13 in the genome of said hybrid sunflower seed.

9. A hybrid sunflower seed produced by the method according to claim 8 , wherein the genome of the hybrid sunflower seed comprises the polynucleotide of SEQ ID NO: 13, wherein the nucleotide at position 60 of the polynucleotide is a cytosine (C), the nucleotide at position 181 of the polynucleotide is a guanine (G), the nucleotide at position 258 of the polynucleotide is a cytosine (C), and the nucleotide at position 261 of the polynucleotide is a thymine (T).

10. The sunflower inbred plant of claim 3 , wherein the genome of the sunflower inbred plant further comprises the polynucleotide of SEQ ID NO: 18, wherein the nucleotide at position 299 of the polynucleotide of SEQ ID NO: 18 is an adenine (A), the nucleotide at position 364 of the polynucleotide of SEQ ID NO: 18 is a cytosine (C), the nucleotide at position 439 of the polynucleotide of SEQ ID NO: 18 is a cytosine (C), and the nucleotide at position 457 of the polynucleotide of SEQ ID NO: 18 is an adenine (A).

11. An inbred seed of the sunflower inbred plant of claim 10 , wherein said inbred seed has said seed oil and said polynucleotide of SEQ ID NO: 13 and said polynucleotide of SEQ ID NO: 18 in the genome of said inbred sunflower seed.

12. The sunflower inbred plant of claim 10 , wherein the seed oil comprises a total combined palmitic acid and stearic acid content of less than 3%.

13. An inbred seed of the sunflower inbred plant of claim 12 , wherein said inbred seed comprises said total combined palmitic acid and stearic acid content of less than 3%, said polynucleotide of SEQ ID NO: 13 and said polynucleotide of SEQ ID NO: 18 in the genome of the inbred sunflower seed.