Wheat Biofortification to Alleviate Global Malnutrition

Editorial

16 September 2022

Editorial: Wheat biofortification to alleviate global malnutrition

Maria Itria Ibba

Om Prakash Gupta

Velu Govindan

Alexander Arthur Theodore Johnson

, 2 more and

Victor Taleon

3,354 views

10 citations

Editors

Om Prakash Gupta

Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research (ICAR)

Velu Govindan

International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (Mexico)

Alexander Arthur Theodore Johnson

The University of Melbourne

Henrik Brinch-Pedersen

Aarhus University

Miroslav Nikolic

University of Belgrade

Victor Taleon

International Food Policy Research Institute

Impact

Review

12 July 2022

Wheat Biofortification: Utilizing Natural Genetic Diversity, Genome-Wide Association Mapping, Genomic Selection, and Genome Editing Technologies

Om Prakash Gupta

, 4 more and

Swapan K. Datta

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.

6,545 views

30 citations

Original Research

18 January 2022

Biofortified Wheat Increases Dietary Zinc Intake: A Randomised Controlled Efficacy Study of Zincol-2016 in Rural Pakistan

Nicola M. Lowe

, 16 more and

Svetlana Tishkovskaya

A new variety of zinc biofortified wheat (Zincol-2016) was released in Pakistan in 2016. The primary aim of this study was to examine the effects of consuming Zincol-2016 wheat flour on biochemical and functional markers of zinc status in a population with widespread zinc deficiency. An individually-randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled cross over design was used. Fifty households were recruited to participate in the study, with each household included at least one woman of reproductive age (16–49 years) who was neither pregnant nor breast feeding or currently taking nutritional supplements. All households were provided with control flour for an initial 2-week baseline period, followed by the intervention period where households were randomly allocated in a 1:1 ratio to receive biofortified flour (group A; n = 25) and control flour (group B; n = 25) for 8-weeks, then switched to the alternate flour for 8-weeks. The trial has been registered with the ISRCTN (https://www.isrctn.com), ID ISRCTN83678069. The primary outcome measure was plasma zinc concentration, and the secondary outcome measures were plasma selenium and copper concentrations, plasma copper:zinc ratio and fatty acid desaturase and elongase activity indices. Nutrient intake was assessed using 24-h dietary recall interviews. Mineral concentrations in plasma were measured using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and free fatty acids and sphingolipids by mass spectrometry. Linear Mixed Model regression and General Linear Model with repeated measures were used to analyse the outcomes. Based on an average flour consumption of 224 g/day, Zincol-2016 flour provided an additional daily zinc intake of between 3.0 and 6.0 mg for white and whole grain flour, respectively. No serious adverse events were reported. This resulted in significant, increase in plasma zinc concentration after 4 weeks [mean difference 41.5 μg/L, 95% CI (6.9–76.1), p = 0.02]. This was not present after 8 weeks (p = 0.6). There were no consistent significant effects of the intervention on fatty acid desaturase and elongase activity indices. Regular consumption of Zincol-2016 flour increased the daily zinc intake of women of reproductive age by 30–60%, however this was not associated with a sustained improvement in indices of zinc status.

8,096 views

29 citations

Weather data of the experimental station during 2017–2018 and 2018–2019 growing seasons.

Original Research

13 December 2021

Application of Zinc and Iron-Based Fertilizers Improves the Growth Attributes, Productivity, and Grain Quality of Two Wheat (Triticum aestivum) Cultivars

Muhammad Bilal Hafeez

, 14 more and

Zeng-Hui Diao

Field-based experiments were conducted during wheat cultivation seasons of 2017–2018 and 2018–2019 to minimize the impact of hidden hunger (micronutrient deficiencies) through agronomic biofortification of two wheat cultivars with zinc and iron. Two spring-planted bread wheat cultivars: Zincol-16 (Zn-efficient) and Anaj-17 (Zn-inefficient with high-yield potential) were treated with either zinc (10 kg/ha), iron (12 kg/ha), or their combination to study their effect on some growth attributes (plant height, tillers, and spike length, etc.,), productivity, and quality. No application of zinc and iron or their combinations served as the control. Maximum Zn and Fe contents of grains were improved by sole application of Zn and Fe, respectively. A higher concentration of Ca in grains was observed by the combined application of Zn and Fe. Starch contents were found maximum by sole application of Fe. Sole or combined application of Zn and Fe reduced wet gluten contents. Maximum proteins were recorded in Anaj-17 under control treatments. Zincol-16 produced maximum ionic concentration, starch contents, and wet gluten as compared to Anaj-17. Yield and growth attributes were also significantly (p < 0.05) improved by combined application as compared to the sole application of Zn or Fe. The combined application also produced the highest biological and grain yield with a maximum harvest index. Cultivar Anaj-17 was found more responsive regarding growth and yield attributes comparatively. The findings of the present study showed that the combined application of Zn and Fe produced good quality grains (more Zn, Fe, Ca, starch, and less gluten concentrations) with a maximum productivity of bread wheat cultivars.

9,016 views

28 citations

(A) Zn content of whole grain and different grain components. 1M: Core powder 1, 2M: Core powder 2, 3M: Core powder 3, 1B: Hide powder 1, 2B: Hide powder 2, 3B: Hide powder 3. Means with different letters (a–c) for each column showed significant difference (P < 0.05). (B) Zn content of different flour. Means with different letters (a–d) for each column showed significant difference (P < 0.05). (C) Zn content of bran with different particles.

Original Research

10 December 2021

Effect of Zn-Rich Wheat Bran With Different Particle Sizes on the Quality of Steamed Bread

Huinan Wang

, 2 more and

Xiaocun Zhang

3,066 views

1 citations

Partitioning of applied foliar Sefert (±N) in the aboveground biomass of plants as a function of harvest time [3, 10, and 17/34 days after application at stem elongation, GS1 (A)/heading stage, GS2 (B)]. The recovery of applied Sefert was calculated as the percentage of applied fertiliser Se that was recovered in the aboveground plant parts. Note that at H34, wheat heads were hand threshed to separate grains and chaff.

Original Research

15 October 2021

Using 77Se-Labelled Foliar Fertilisers to Determine How Se Transfers Within Wheat Over Time

Chandnee Ramkissoon

, 3 more and

Michael J. McLaughlin

4,266 views

2 citations

Tetraploid wheat TILLING mutants of CCD-A4, CCD-B4, PLL-A, and PLL-B. (A) Exon-intron diagrams of CCD-A4, CCD-B4, PLL-A, and PLL-B. Exons and introns are shown by black boxes and solid lines, respectively. The black bar denotes 100 bp. Locations of mutations are indicated with arrows. Mutant alleles of CCD4 and PLL homoeologs are linked and co-segregated in progenies of ccd-A4 and ccd-B4 mutants. Chr, chromosome; Mbp, megabase pair; *stop codon. (B) Cleaved Amplified Polymorphic Sequences (CAPS) and derived CAPS (dCAPS) markers for genotyping of wild-type and mutant CCD-A4, CCD-B4, and LCYe-B alleles. The PCR products were digested with HphI (CCD-A4 primer pair), RsaI (CCD-B4 primer pair), and DdeI (LCYe-B primer pair). Diagnostic bands for each marker are indicated with arrows. WT, homozygous wild type for the target gene; HM, homozygous mutant; HT, heterozygous mutant; M, DNA size marker. (C) Images of 4-week-old and 11-week-old TILLING control as well as ccd-A4 pll-A, ccd-B4 pll-B, and ccd-A4 ccd-B4 pll-A pll-B mutant plants.

Original Research

08 September 2021

Assessing the Role of Carotenoid Cleavage Dioxygenase 4 Homoeologs in Carotenoid Accumulation and Plant Growth in Tetraploid Wheat

Shu Yu

and

Li Tian

3,050 views

3 citations

Original Research

03 August 2021

Microbial-Assisted Wheat Iron Biofortification Using Endophytic Bacillus altitudinis WR10

Zhongke Sun

, 3 more and

Chengwei Li

Microbial-assisted biofortification attracted much attention recently due to its sustainable and eco-friendly nature for improving nutrient content in wheat. An endophytic strain Bacillus altitudinis WR10, which showed sophistical regulation of iron (Fe) homeostasis in wheat seedlings, inspired us to test its potential for enhancing Fe biofortification in wheat grain. In this study, assays in vitro indicated that WR10 has versatile plant growth-promoting (PGP) traits and bioinformatic analysis predicted its non-pathogenicity. Two inoculation methods, namely, seed soaking and soil spraying, with 10⁷ cfu/ml WR10 cells were applied once before sowing of wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv. Zhoumai 36) in the field. After wheat maturation, evaluation of yield and nutrients showed a significant increase in the mean number of kernels per spike (KPS) and the content of total nitrogen (N), potassium (K), and Fe in grains. At the grain filling stage, the abundance of Bacillus spp. and the content of N, K, and Fe in the root, the stem, and the leaf were also increased in nearly all tissues, except Fe in the stem and the leaf. Further correlation analysis revealed a positive relationship between the total abundance of Bacillus spp. and the content of N, K, and Fe in grains. Seed staining confirmed the enhanced accumulation of Fe, especially in the embryo and the endosperm. Finally, using a hydroponic coculture model, qPCR quantification indicated effective colonization, internalization, translocation, and replication of strain WR10 in wheat within 48 h. Collectively, strain WR10 assisted successful Fe biofortification in wheat in the field, laying a foundation for further large-scale investigation of its applicability and effectiveness.

5,351 views

33 citations

Genetic linkage map and QTL positions identified in A, B, and D genomes of RILs derived from WH 542 × synthetic derivative cross. Red color indicates QTLs for GFeC; Blue color indicates QTLs for GZnC; Yellow color indicates QTLs for grain GPC; Green color indicates QTLs for TKW.

Original Research

15 June 2021

Identification of Novel Genomic Regions for Biofortification Traits Using an SNP Marker-Enriched Linkage Map in Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)

Gopalareddy Krishnappa

, 9 more and

Anju Mahendru Singh

4,686 views

32 citations

The locations where the field experiments were conducted in Quzhou County, Hebei Province of China. Sixteen experimental locations are located in the 6 villages in Quzhou County.

Original Research

28 June 2021

Foliar Zinc Application to Wheat May Lessen the Zinc Deficiency Burden in Rural Quzhou, China

Bao-Gang Yu

, 4 more and

Chun-Qin Zou

3,868 views

17 citations

Phenotypic correlation of GZn with GFe based on BLUEs across nine environments in the Jingdong 8/Bainong AK58 RIL population.

Original Research

09 June 2021

QTL Mapping for Grain Zinc and Iron Concentrations in Bread Wheat

Yue Wang

, 9 more and

Yong Zhang

Deficiency of micronutrient elements, such as zinc (Zn) and iron (Fe), is called “hidden hunger,” and bio-fortification is the most effective way to overcome the problem. In this study, a high-density Affymetrix 50K single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array was used to map quantitative trait loci (QTL) for grain Zn (GZn) and grain Fe (GFe) concentrations in 254 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) from a cross Jingdong 8/Bainong AK58 in nine environments. There was a wide range of variation in GZn and GFe concentrations among the RILs, with the largest effect contributed by the line × environment interaction, followed by line and environmental effects. The broad sense heritabilities of GZn and GFe were 0.36 ± 0.03 and 0.39 ± 0.03, respectively. Seven QTL for GZn on chromosomes 1DS, 2AS, 3BS, 4DS, 6AS, 6DL, and 7BL accounted for 2.2–25.1% of the phenotypic variances, and four QTL for GFe on chromosomes 3BL, 4DS, 6AS, and 7BL explained 2.3–30.4% of the phenotypic variances. QTL on chromosomes 4DS, 6AS, and 7BL might have pleiotropic effects on both GZn and GFe that were validated on a germplasm panel. Closely linked SNP markers were converted to high-throughput KASP markers, providing valuable tools for selection of improved Zn and Fe bio-fortification in breeding.

4,605 views

30 citations