TY - JOUR
T1 - Biofortification of wheat grain with iron and zinc
T2 - integrating novel genomic resources and knowledge from model crops
AU - Borrill, Philippa
AU - Connorton, James M
AU - Balk, Janneke
AU - Miller, Anthony J
AU - Sanders, Dale
AU - Uauy, Cristobal
PY - 2014/2/21
Y1 - 2014/2/21
N2 - Wheat, like many other staple cereals, contains low levels of the essential micronutrients iron and zinc. Up to two billion people worldwide suffer from iron and zinc deficiencies, particularly in regions with predominantly cereal-based diets. Although wheat flour is commonly fortified during processing, an attractive and more sustainable solution is biofortification, which requires developing new varieties of wheat with inherently higher iron and zinc content in their grains. Until now most studies aimed at increasing iron and zinc content in wheat grains have focused on discovering natural variation in progenitor or related species. However, recent developments in genomics and transformation have led to a step change in targeted research on wheat at a molecular level. We discuss promising approaches to improve iron and zinc content in wheat using knowledge gained in model grasses. We explore how the latest resources developed in wheat, including sequenced genomes and mutant populations, can be exploited for biofortification. We also highlight the key research and practical challenges that remain in improving iron and zinc content in wheat.
AB - Wheat, like many other staple cereals, contains low levels of the essential micronutrients iron and zinc. Up to two billion people worldwide suffer from iron and zinc deficiencies, particularly in regions with predominantly cereal-based diets. Although wheat flour is commonly fortified during processing, an attractive and more sustainable solution is biofortification, which requires developing new varieties of wheat with inherently higher iron and zinc content in their grains. Until now most studies aimed at increasing iron and zinc content in wheat grains have focused on discovering natural variation in progenitor or related species. However, recent developments in genomics and transformation have led to a step change in targeted research on wheat at a molecular level. We discuss promising approaches to improve iron and zinc content in wheat using knowledge gained in model grasses. We explore how the latest resources developed in wheat, including sequenced genomes and mutant populations, can be exploited for biofortification. We also highlight the key research and practical challenges that remain in improving iron and zinc content in wheat.
KW - nutritional enhancement
KW - cereals
KW - transgenic
KW - genomics
KW - model to crop
U2 - 10.3389/fpls.2014.00053
DO - 10.3389/fpls.2014.00053
M3 - Article
C2 - 24600464
SN - 1664-462X
VL - 5
JO - Frontiers in Plant Science
JF - Frontiers in Plant Science
M1 - 53
ER -