AUTHOR=Gupta Om Prakash , Singh Amit Kumar , Singh Archana , Singh Gyanendra Pratap , Bansal Kailash C. , Datta Swapan K. TITLE=Wheat Biofortification: Utilizing Natural Genetic Diversity, Genome-Wide Association Mapping, Genomic Selection, and Genome Editing Technologies JOURNAL=Frontiers in Nutrition VOLUME=9 YEAR=2022 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2022.826131 DOI=10.3389/fnut.2022.826131 ISSN=2296-861X ABSTRACT=

Alleviating micronutrients associated problems in children below five years and women of childbearing age, remains a significant challenge, especially in resource-poor nations. One of the most important staple food crops, wheat attracts the highest global research priority for micronutrient (Fe, Zn, Se, and Ca) biofortification. Wild relatives and cultivated species of wheat possess significant natural genetic variability for these micronutrients, which has successfully been utilized for breeding micronutrient dense wheat varieties. This has enabled the release of 40 biofortified wheat cultivars for commercial cultivation in different countries, including India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Bolivia, Mexico and Nepal. In this review, we have systematically analyzed the current understanding of availability and utilization of natural genetic variations for grain micronutrients among cultivated and wild relatives, QTLs/genes and different genomic regions regulating the accumulation of micronutrients, and the status of micronutrient biofortified wheat varieties released for commercial cultivation across the globe. In addition, we have also discussed the potential implications of emerging technologies such as genome editing to improve the micronutrient content and their bioavailability in wheat.