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Biofortification and Nutritional Security
Abstract
Biofortification is a sustainable strategy to enhance the nutrient content of staple crops,
addressing the global issue of micronutrient deficiencies, particularly in low-income and rural
populations. This approach improves the nutritional quality of crops through traditional
breeding and modern biotechnological methods, ensuring that essential vitamins and minerals
are present in the edible parts of the plants. Biofortified crops, such as provitamin A-rich orange
sweet potato, iron-enriched beans, and zinc-fortified rice, have already demonstrated success in
improving public health. Future advancements in genome editing, marker-assisted selection,
and the integration of biofortified traits into food processing hold promise for further enhancing
nutritional security. The widespread adoption of biofortified crops can help alleviate
malnutrition, particularly in vulnerable populations, by integrating nutrition into agricultural
practices and improving public health outcomes globally
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Biofortification is a sustainable solution to the micronutrient malnutrition problem in the world through enhancing the nutritional density of staple foods using different approaches. It mainly deals with the issue of hidden hunger which affects billions of people, especially from the developing world where their diets lack micronutrients. Crops like rice, wheat, maize, beans and others fortified with iron, zinc and vitamins among others assist in increasing the bioavailability of these nutrients in economic terms. Agronomic biofortification involves the use of fertilizers with micronutrients, conventional breeding involves choosing crop varieties with high nutrient density from a pool of germplasm while genetic engineering has the added advantage of precise nutrient enhancement seen in the case of golden rice – beta-carotene. Obstacles include socio-economic ones, culture, and regulatory factors present are the facts, but organizations such as HarvestPlus have proven the ability of biofortified crops in the fight against malnutrition. The prospects involve scaling up and shifting to multi-nutrient biofortification, as well as other types of genetic engineering in order to meet the nutritive needs. Changes in the policy and sharpening the community’s perception of the importance of the cultivation of biofortified crops within agricultural systems are central to improving dietary quality and thus the well-being across the human population.
Micronutrient deficiencies, particularly in essential vitamins and minerals, pose a significant public health challenge, affecting over two billion people worldwide. These deficiencies contribute to various health issues, impaired cognitive development, and reduced productivity, ultimately hindering social and economic progress. Biofortification, a process of enhancing the nutritional content of staple crops through conventional breeding or genetic engineering, has emerged as a promising and sustainable approach to combat micronutrient deficiencies and ensure global food security. This review explores the potential of Biofortification as a cost-effective and sustainable solution to address hidden hunger and improve the nutritional status of vulnerable populations. Biofortification offers several advantages over traditional interventions, such as supplementation and food fortification. By targeting staple crops consumed by the majority of the population, Biofortification ensures a wide reach and sustained nutrient intake without requiring significant changes in dietary habits. Moreover, biofortified crops can be grown locally, reducing the reliance on external interventions and empowering farmers to improve their nutritional status and livelihoods. Numerous studies have demonstrated the efficacy of bio fortified crops in increasing micronutrient intake and improving health outcomes. For instance, iron-biofortified pearl millet has been shown to increase iron absorption and reduce anemia prevalence in children, while zinc-biofortified wheat has improved zinc status and reduced stunting. Additionally, vitamin A-biofortified sweet potato and cassava have significantly increased vitamin A intake and reduced vitamin A deficiency in various populations. Despite the promising results, the success of Biofortification relies on several factors, including the development of nutrient-dense varieties, consumer acceptance, and effective dissemination strategies. Collaboration among researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders is essential to scale up Biofortification efforts and ensure their long-term sustainability. By prioritizing Biofortification as a key strategy in combating micronutrient deficiencies, we can work towards a more nourished and food-secure world.
Fortification of food with mineral micronutrients and micronutrient supplementation occupied the center stage during the two-year-long Corona Pandemic, highlighting the urgent need to focus on micronutrition. Focus has also been intensified on the biofortification (natural assimilation) of mineral micronutrients into food crops using various techniques like agronomic, genetic, or transgenic. Agronomic biofortification is a time-tested method and has been found useful in the fortification of several nutrients in several crops, yet the nutrient use and uptake efficiency of crops has been noted to vary due to different growing conditions like soil type, crop management, fertilizer type, etc. Agronomic biofortification can be an important tool in achieving nutritional security and its importance has recently increased because of climate change related issues, and pandemics such as COVID-19. The introduction of high specialty fertilizers like nano-fertilizers, chelated fertilizers, and water-soluble fertilizers that have high nutrient uptake efficiency and better nutrient translocation to the consumable parts of a crop plant has further improved the effectiveness of agronomic biofortification. Several new agronomic biofortification techniques like nutripriming, foliar application, soilless activation, and mechanized application techniques have further increased the relevance of agronomic biofortification. These new technological advances, along with an increased realization of mineral micronutrient nutrition have reinforced the relevance of agronomic biofortification for global food and nutritional security. The review highlights the advances made in the field of agronomic biofortification via the improved new fertilizer forms, and the emerging techniques that achieve better micronutrient use efficiency of crop plants.
Crop breeding has mainly been focused on increasing productivity, either directly or by decreasing the losses caused by biotic and abiotic stresses (that is, incorporating resistance to diseases and enhancing tolerance to adverse conditions, respectively). Quite the opposite, little attention has been paid to improve the nutritional value of crops. It has not been until recently that crop biofortification has become an objective within breeding programs, through either conventional methods or genetic engineering. There are many steps along this long path, from the initial evaluation of germplasm for the content of nutrients and health-promoting compounds to the development of biofortified varieties, with the available and future genomic tools assisting scientists and breeders in reaching their objectives as well as speeding up the process. This review offers a compendium of the genomic technologies used to explore and create biodiversity, to associate the traits of interest to the genome, and to transfer the genomic regions responsible for the desirable characteristics into potential new varieties. Finally, a glimpse of future perspectives and challenges in this emerging area is offered by taking the present scenario and the slow progress of the regulatory framework as the starting point.
Biofortification is a long-term strategy of delivering more iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) to those most in need. Plant breeding programs within the CGIAR and NARS have made major advances in Fe- and Zn-dense variety development and there have been successful releases of new biofortified varieties. Recent research effort has led to a substantial improvement in our knowledge of Fe and Zn homeostasis and gene regulation, resulting in the identification of candidate genes for marker assisted selection. International cooperation between the agricultural and nutrition community has been strengthened, with numerous implementation and partnership strategies developed and employed over the years. The evidence on the effectiveness of Fe and Zn biofortified crops is slowly building up and the results are encouraging. Biofortification continues to be scaled out and further work is required to reach the general aim of eradicating the hidden hunger of Fe and Zn deficiency in the world’s population and ensuring nutritional security.
Biofortification breeding for three important micronutrients for human health, namely, iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), and provitamin A (PVA), has gained momentum in recent years. HarvestPlus, along with its global consortium partners, enhances Fe, Zn, and PVA in staple crops. The strategic and applied research by HarvestPlus is driven by product-based impact pathway that integrates crop breeding, nutrition research, impact assessment, advocacy, and communication to implement country-specific crop delivery plans. Targeted breeding has resulted in 393 biofortified crop varieties by the end of 2020, which have been released or are in testing in 63 countries, potentially benefitting more than 48 million people. Nevertheless, to reach more than a billion people by 2030, future breeding lines that are being distributed by Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) centers and submitted by National Agricultural Research System (NARS) to varietal release committees should be biofortified. It is envisaged that the mainstreaming of biofortification traits will be driven by high-throughput micronutrient phenotyping, genomic selection coupled with speed breeding for accelerating genetic gains. It is noteworthy that targeted breeding gradually leads to mainstreaming, as the latter capitalizes on the progress made in the former. Efficacy studies have revealed the nutritional significance of Fe, Zn, and PVA biofortified varieties over non-biofortified ones. Mainstreaming will ensure the integration of biofortified traits into competitive varieties and hybrids developed by private and public sectors. The mainstreaming strategy has just been initiated in select CGIAR centers, namely, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), and International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT). This review will present the key successes of targeted breeding and its relevance to the mainstreaming approaches to achieve scaling of biofortification to billions sustainably.
Cereals and pulses are consumed as a staple food in low-income countries for the fulfillment of daily dietary requirements and as a source of micronutrients. However, they are failing to offer balanced nutrition due to deficiencies of some essential compounds, macronutrients, and micronutrients, i.e., cereals are deficient in iron, zinc, some essential amino acids, and quality proteins. Meanwhile, the pulses are rich in anti-nutrient compounds that restrict the bioavailability of micronutrients. As a result, the population is suffering from malnutrition and resultantly different diseases, i.e., anemia, beriberi, pellagra, night blindness, rickets, and scurvy are common in the society. These facts highlight the need for the biofortification of cereals and pulses for the provision of balanced diets to masses and reduction of malnutrition. Biofortification of crops may be achieved through conventional approaches or new breeding techniques (NBTs). Conventional approaches for biofortification cover mineral fertilization through foliar or soil application, microbe-mediated enhanced uptake of nutrients, and conventional crossing of plants to obtain the desired combination of genes for balanced nutrient uptake and bioavailability. Whereas, NBTs rely on gene silencing, gene editing, overexpression, and gene transfer from other species for the acquisition of balanced nutritional profiles in mutant plants. Thus, we have highlighted the significance of conventional and NBTs for the biofortification of cereals and pulses. Current and future perspectives and opportunities are also discussed. Further, the regulatory aspects of newly developed biofortified transgenic and/or non-transgenic crop varieties via NBTs are also presented.
Nutrition is a source of energy, and building material for the human organism. The quality of food has an effect on the quality of individual life. Minerals and vitamins participate in various catalytic and regulatory functions of the main metabolic processes: absorption, transport, redox and biosynthesis of organic compounds, genetic information transfer, etc. Regular consumption of dietary fibers like β-glucans and oat-specific phenolics, antioxidants, and avenanthramides, stimulate innate and acquired immunity, prevent cancer, obesity, reduce glucose, total cholesterol and triglyceride blood levels and regulate the expression of cholesterol-related genes. Thus, all those compounds are vitally important for the normal functional status of the human body. A deficiency in one or another essential nutrient causes disruptions in human metabolism, thus leading to serious illnesses. Plants are the main source of essential nutrients that are bioavailable for humans. One of the most popular groups of staple crops are the small grains crops (SGC), so these crops are most often used for biofortification purposes. Exploiting the potential of plant resources, biofortification is a long-term strategy, aimed at increasing the number of essential micro- and macronutrients in major food sources and ensuring their bioavailability. The most productive way to implement such strategy is the active use of the possibilities offered by collections of plant genetic resources, including SGC, concentrated in various countries of the world. The collections of plant resources contain both cultivated plants and their wild relatives that possess the required composition of micro- and macronutrients. A complex scientific approach to studying plant germplasm collections, together with agricultural practices (soil enrichment with fertilizers with a required composition), genetic biofortification (traditional breeding, marker-assisted selection or genetic engineering tactics), and their combinations will lead to the development of new biofortified cultivars and improvement of old ones, which can be used to solve the problems of unbalanced nutrition (malnutrition or hidden hunger) in different regions of the world.
Crop wild relatives (CWR, plural CWRs) are those wild species that are regarded as the ancestors of our cultivated crops. It was only at the end of the last century that they were accorded a high priority for their conservation and, thus, for many genebanks, they are a new and somewhat unknown set of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. After defining and characterizing CWR and their general threat status, providing an assessment of biological peculiarities of CWR with respect to conservation management, illustrating the need for prioritization and addressing the importance of data and information, we made a detailed assessment of specific aspects of CWRs of direct relevance for their conservation and use. This assessment was complemented by an overview of the current status of CWRs conservation and use, including facts and figures on the in situ conservation, on the ex situ conservation in genebanks and botanic gardens, as well as of the advantages of a combination of in situ and ex situ conservation, the so-called complementary conservation approach. In addition, a brief assessment of the situation with respect to the use of CWRs was made. From these assessments we derived the needs for action in order to achieve a more effective and efficient conservation and use, specifically with respect to the documentation of CWRs, their in situ and ex situ, as well as their complementarity conservation, and how synergies between these components can be obtained. The review was concluded with suggestions on how use can be strengthened, as well as the conservation system at large at the local, national, and regional/international level. Finally, based on the foregoing assessments, a number of recommendations were elaborated on how CWRs can be better conserved and used in order to exploit their potential benefits more effectively.
The dietary requirement for an essential trace element is an intake level which meets a specified criterion for adequacy and thereby minimizes risk of nutrient deficiency or excess. Disturbances in trace element homeostasis may result in the development of pathologic states and diseases. This article is an update of a review article "Trace Elements in Human Nutrition-A Review" previously published in 2013. The previous review was updated to emphasis in detail the importance of known trace elements so far in humans' physiology and nutrition and also to implement the detailed information for practical and effective management of trace elements' status in clinical diagnosis and health care situations. Although various classifications for trace elements have been proposed and may be controversial, this review will use World Health Organization( WHO) classification as previously done. For this review a traditional integrated review format was chosen and many recent medical and scientific literatures for the new findings on bioavailability, functions, and state of excess/deficiency of trace elements were assessed. The results indicated that for the known essential elements, essentiality and toxicity are unrelated and toxicity is a matter of dose or exposure. Little is known about the essentiality of some of the probably essential elements. In regard to toxic heavy metals, a toxic element may nevertheless be essential. In addition, the early pathological manifestations of trace elements deficiency or excess are difficult to detect until more specific pathologically relevant indicators become available. Discoveries and many refinements in the development of new techniques and continual improvement in laboratory methods have enabled researchers to detect the early pathological consequences of deficiency or excess of trace elements. They all are promises to fulfill the gaps in the present and future research and clinical diagnosis of trace elements deficiencies or intoxications. However, further investigations are needed to complete the important gaps in our knowledge on trace elements, especially probably essential trace elements' role in health and disease status.
Both human and animals, for their nutritional requirements, mainly rely on the plant-based foods, which provide a wide range of nutrients. Minerals, proteins, vitamins are among the nutrients which are essential and need to be available in adequate amount in edible portion of the staple crops. Increasing nutritional content in staple crops either through agronomic biofortification or through conventional plant-breeding strategies continue to be a huge task for scientists around the globe. Although some success has been achieved in recent past, in most cases, we have fallen short of expected targets. To maximize the nutrient uptake and partitioning to different economic part of plants, scientists have employed and tailored several biofortification strategies. But in present agricultural and environmental concerns, these approaches are not much effective. Henceforth, we are highlighting the recent developments and promising aspects of microbial-assisted and genomic-assisted breeding as candidate biofortification approach, that have contributed significantly in increasing nutritional content in grains of different crops. The methods used to date to accomplish nutrient enrichment with recently emerging strategies that we believe could be the most promising and holistic approach for future biofortification program. Results are encouraging, but for future perspective, the existing knowledge about the strategies needs to be confined. Concerted scientific investment are required to widen up these biofortification strategies, so that it could play an important role in ensuring nutritional security of ever-growing population in growing agricultural and environmental constraints.
Micronutrient deficiencies (MNDs) occur as a result of insufficient intake of minerals and vitamins that are critical for body growth, physical/mental development, and activity. These deficiencies are particularly prevalent in lower-and middle-income countries (LMICs), falling disproportionately on the poorest and most vulnerable segments of the society. Dietary diversity is considered the most effective method in reducing this deficiency but is often a major constraint as most foods rich in micronutrients are also expensive and thereby inaccessible to poorer members of society. In recent years, affordable commodities such as staple foods (e.g., cereals, roots, and tubers) and condiments (e.g., salt and oil) have been targeted as "vehicles" for fortification and biofortification. Despite efforts by many countries to support such initiatives, there have been mixed experiences with delivery and coverage. An important but little understood driver of success and failure for food fortification has been the range of business models and approaches adopted to promote uptake. This review examines the different models used in the delivery of fortified food including complementary foods and biofortified crops. Using a keyword search and pearl growing techniques, the review located 11,897 texts of which 106 were considered relevant. Evidence was found of a range of business forms and models that attempt to optimise uptake, use, and impact of food fortification which are specific to the 'food vehicle' and environment. We characterise the current business models and business parameters that drive successful food fortification and we propose an initial structure for understanding different fortification business cases that will offer assistance to future designers and implementors of food fortification programmes.
Breeding wheat with enhanced levels of grain zinc (Zn) and iron (Fe) is a cost-effective, sustainable solution to malnutrition problems. Modern wheat varieties have limited variation in grain Zn and Fe, but large-scale screening has identified high levels of Zn and Fe in wild relatives and progenitors of cultivated wheat. The most promising sources of high Zn and Fe are einkorn (Triticum monococcum), wild emmer (T. dicoccoides), diploid progenitors of hexaploid wheat (such as Aegilops tauschii), T. spelta, T. polonicum, and landraces of T. aestivum. This study evaluate the effects of translocations from rye and different Aegilops species in a “Pavon-76” wheat genetic background and utilized in the wheat biofortification breeding program at CIMMYT that uses diverse genetic resources, including landraces, recreated synthetic hexaploids, T. spelta and pre-breeding lines. Four translocations were identified that resulted significantly higher Zn content in “Pavon 76” genetic background than the check varieties, and they had increased levels of grain Fe as well-compared to “Pavon 76.” These lines were also included in the breeding program aimed to develop advanced high Zn breeding lines. Advanced lines derived from diverse crosses were screened under Zn-enriched soil conditions in Mexico during the 2017 and 2018 seasons. The Zn content of the grain was ranging from 35 to 69 mg/kg during 2017 and 38 to 72 mg/kg during 2018. Meanwhile grain Fe ranged from 30 to 43 mg/kg during 2017 and 32 to 52 mg/kg during 2018. A highly significant positive correlation was found between Zn and Fe (r = 0.54; P < 0.001) content of the breeding lines, therefore it was possible to breed for both properties in parallel. Yield testing of the advanced lines showed that 15% (2017) and 24% (2018) of the lines achieved 95–110% yield potential of the commercial checks and also had 12 mg/kg advantage in the Zn content suggesting that greater genetic gains and farmer-preferred wheat varieties were developed and deployed. A decade of research and breeding efforts led to the selection of “best-bet” breeding lines and the release of eight biofortified wheat varieties in target regions of South Asia and in Mexico.
Zinc (Zn) still represents an important health problem in developing countries, caused mainly by inadequate dietary intake. A large consumption of cereal‐based foods with small concentrations and low bioavailability of Zn is the major reason behind this problem. Modern cultivars of cereals have inherently very small concentrations of Zn and cannot meet the human need for Zn. Today, up to 50% of wheat‐cultivated soil globally is considered poor in bioavailable Zn. Agricultural strategies that are used to improve the nutritional value of crop plants are known as biofortification strategies. They include genetic biofortification, which is based on classical plant breeding and genetic engineering for larger nutrient concentrations, and greater agronomic biofortification, which is based on optimized fertilizer applications. This review focuses on agronomic biofortification with Zn, which has proved to be very effective for wheat and also other cereal crops including rice. Molecular and genetic research into Zn uptake, transport and grain deposition in cereals are critically important for identifying ‘bottlenecks’ in the biofortification of food crops with Zn. Transgenic plants with large Zn concentrations in seeds are often tested under controlled laboratory or glasshouse conditions with sufficient available Zn in the growth medium for the entire growth period. However, they might not always show the same performance under ‘real‐world’ conditions with limited chemical availability of Zn and various stress factors such as drought. What purpose can an upgraded transport and storage system serve if the amount of goods to be transported and stored is limited anyway? Given the fact that the Zn concentrations required to achieve a measurable impact on human health are well above those required to avoid any loss of yield from Zn deficiency, providing crop plants with sufficient Zn through the soil and foliar fertilizer strategy under field conditions is critically important for biofortification efforts.
Highlights
Zinc malnutrition is a major global health issue associated with cereal‐based diets.
Agronomic biofortification with Zn aims to provide edible parts of crop plants with sufficient Zn.
Biofortification with Zn fertilizers, particularly foliar applications, works well for wheat and other cereals.
Agronomic biofortification with Zn provides a practical and cost‐effective option to tackle the global Zn malnutrition problem.
Over the past 15 years, biofortification, the process of breeding nutrients into food crops, has gained ample recognition as a cost-effective, complementary, feasible means of delivering micronutrients to populations that may have limited access to diverse diets, supplements, or commercially fortified foods. In 2008, a panel of noted economists that included five Nobel Laureates ranked biofortification fifth among the most cost-effective solutions to address global challenges such as reducing hidden hunger. The 2016 World Food Prize was awarded to biofortification.
Biofortification involves breeding staple food crops to increase their micronutrient content, targeting foods widely consumed by low-income families in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The focus is on providing sufficient levels of vitamin A, iron, and/or zinc through these crops, based on existing consumption patterns.
HarvestPlus is part of the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH). HarvestPlus works in partnership with more than 200 scientific and implementation organizations around the world to improve nutrition and public health by developing and promoting biofortified food crops that are rich in vitamins and minerals, and providing global leadership on biofortification evidence and technology.
Crops bred for higher levels of micronutrients using conventional breeding methods have been released in 26 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, and are now being grown and eaten by millions of farmers and consumers. This paper reviews crop development progress and varietal release of primary (major) and secondary (regionally important) staple crops, with a focus on progress in Africa.
Micronutrient malnutrition is known to affect more than half of the world’s population and considered to be among the most serious global challenges to humankind. Modern plant breeding has been historically oriented toward achieving high agronomic yields rather than nutritional quality, and other efforts related to alleviating the problem have been primarily through industrial fortification or pharmaceutical supplementation. Micronutrient malnutrition or the hidden hunger is very common among women and preschool children caused mainly by low dietary intake of micronutrients, especially Zn and Fe. Biofortification, the process of increasing the bioavailable concentrations of essential elements in edible portions of crop plants through agronomic intervention or genetic selection, may be the solution to malnutrition or hidden hunger mitigation. The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research has been investigating the genetic potential to increase bioavailable Fe and Zn in staple food crops such as rice, wheat, maize, common beans, and cassava.
Biofortification is a feasible and cost-effective means of delivering micronutrients to populations that may have limited access to diverse diets and other micronutrient interventions. Since 2003, HarvestPlus and its partners have demonstrated that this agriculture-based method of addressing micronutrient deficiency through plant breeding works. More than 20 million people in farm households in developing countries are now growing and consuming biofortified crops. This review summarizes key evidence and discusses delivery experiences, as well as farmer and consumer adoption. Given the strength of the evidence, attention should now shift to an action-oriented agenda for scaling biofortification to improve nutrition globally. To reach one billion people by 2030, there are three key challenges: 1) mainstreaming biofortified traits into public plant breeding programs; 2) building consumer demand; and 3) integrating biofortification into public and private policies, programs, and investments. While many building blocks are in place, institutional leadership is needed to continue to drive towards this ambitious goal.
Biofortification is the process of increasing the density of vitamins and mineral in a crop through plant breeding— using either conventional methods or genetic engineering—or through agronomic practices. Over the past 15 years, conventional breeding efforts have resulted in the development of varieties of several staple food crops with significant levels of the three micronutrients most limiting in diets: zinc, iron, and vitamin A. More than 15 million people in developing countries now grow and consume biofortified crops. Evidence from nutrition research shows that biofortified varieties provide considerable amounts of bioavailable micronutrients, and consumption of these varieties can improve micronutrient deficiency status among target populations. Farmer adoption and consumer acceptance research shows that farmers and consumers like the various production and consumption characteristics of biofortified varieties, as much as (if not more than) popular conventional varieties, even in the absence of nutritional information. Further development and delivery of these micronutrient-rich varieties can potentially reduce hidden hunger, especially among rural populations whose diets rely on staple food crops. Future work includes strengthening the supply of and the demand for biofortified staple food crops and facilitating targeted investment to those crop–country combinations that have the highest potential nutritional impact.
There is little information regarding the chromosomal regions conferring zinc (Zn) accumulation in barley. With the aim of developing markers for Zn accumulation, 150 lines derived from cross between ‘Clipper’ (low-Zn-accumulator) and ‘Sahara’ (high-Zn-accumulator) were screened. In field-grown plants, two regions located on 2HS and 2HL were associated with seed Zn concentration and content. 2HS was flanked by Xbcd175 and Xpsr108; 2HL was flanked by vrs1 and XksuF15 markers. These two regions accounted for 45% of total variation in seed Zn concentration and 59% of total variation in seed Zn content. In a glasshouse experiment, 2HS and 2HL were also associated with seed Zn concentration and content, and explained 37% and 55% of the total variation in seed Zn concentration and content, respectively. The identification of these Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) provides an important starting point for transferring and pyramiding genes that may contribute to the improvement of barley productivity and nutritional quality in Zn-deficient environments.
Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is prevalent throughout the developing world, and causes night blindness and increases child morbidity and mortality. We studied the health benefits of biofortification in reducing VAD, using a cluster-randomized impact evaluation in 36 villages in northern Mozambique. Based on a sample of 1,321 observations of children under the age 5, biofortification reduced diarrhea prevalence by 11.4 percentage points (95% CI 2.0–20.8), and by 18.9 percentage points in children under the age three (95% CI 6.6–68.3). Diarrhea duration was also reduced. This is promising evidence that child health can be improved through agricultural interventions such as biofortification.
The aim of the study was to analyse foliar feeding of winter wheat cv. 'Kobra' in combination with different soil fertilization treatments with calcium and magnesium compounds. The foliar fertilizers INSOL PK + 5% urea solution and EKOSOL U were applied 3 times during the during the growing season in four soil fertilization treatments: control without fertilization, NPK, NPK + MgS+ CaO + MgO. The investigations involved a 3-year field experiment established on medium soil with a pH of 4.2 in 1 mole KCl dm-3 and with the granulometric composition of clayey silt. The soil was characterised by a low content of available phosphorus and potassium as well as a very low content of sulphur and magnesium. The foliar fertilizers applied and the soil fertilization treatments had a varied effect on the yield parameters, the macronutrient content in grain and straw, and the content and quality of gluten. Among the soil fertilization treatments, the best production results and quality parameters of winter wheat were obtained after the application of the dose with magnesium lime. The foliar fertilizers had a greater impact on yield and gluten content than on the mineral composition of winter wheat grain and straw.
Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) persists in Uganda and the consumption of β-carotene-rich orange sweet potato (OSP) may help to alleviate it. Two large-scale, 2-y intervention programs were implemented among Ugandan farmer households to promote the production and consumption of OSP. The programs differed in their inputs during year 2, with one being more intensive (IP) and the other being reduced (RP). A randomized, controlled effectiveness study compared the impact of the IP and RP with a control on OSP and vitamin A intakes among children aged 6-35 mo (n = 265) and 3-5 y (n = 578), and women (n = 573), and IP compared with control on vitamin A status of 3- to 5-y-old children (n = 891) and women (n = 939) with serum retinol <1.05 μmol/L at baseline. The net OSP intake increased in both the IP and RP groups (P < 0.01), accounting for 44-60% of vitamin A intake at follow-up. The prevalence of inadequate vitamin A intake was reduced in the IP and RP groups compared with controls among children 6-35 mo of age (>30 percentage points) and women (>25 percentage points) (P < 0.01), with no differences between the IP and RP groups of children (P = 0.75) or women (P = 0.17). There was a 9.5 percentage point reduction in prevalence of serum retinol <1.05 μmol/L for children with complete data on confounding factors (n = 396; P < 0.05). At follow-up, vitamin A intake from OSP was positively associated with vitamin A status (P < 0.05). Introduction of OSP to Ugandan farming households increased vitamin A intakes among children and women and was associated with improved vitamin A status among children.
We transformed rice (Oryza sativa L.) simultaneously with five minimal cassettes, each containing a promoter, coding region and polyadenylation site but no
vector backbone. We found that multi-transgene cotransformation was achieved with high efficiency using multiple cassettes,
with all transgenic plants we generated containing at least two transgenes and 16% containing all five. About 75% of the plants
had simple transgene integration patterns with a predominance of single-copy insertions. The expression levels for all transgenes,
and the overall coexpression frequencies, were much higher than previously reported in whole plasmid transformants. Four of
five lines analyzed for transgene expression stability in subsequent generations showed stable and high expression levels
over generations. A simple model is proposed, which accounts for differences in the molecular make-up and the expression profile
of transgenic plants generated using whole plasmid or minimal cassettes. We conclude that gene transfer using minimal cassettes
is an efficient and rapid method for the production of transgenic plants containing and stably expressing several different
transgenes. Our results facilitate effective manipulation of multi-gene pathways in plants in a single transformation step.
The diet of approximately three billion people worldwide is nutrient deficient and most of the world's poorest people are dependent on staple food crops as their primary source of micronutrients. One component of the solution to nutrient deficiencies is collaboration among plant breeders, cereal chemists and nutritionists to produce staple crop cultivars with increased mineral nutrient concentration. Sixty-three historical and modern wheat cultivars were evaluated for grain yield and concentration of calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, selenium, and zinc. While grain yield has increased over time, the concentrations of all minerals except calcium have decreased. Thus a greater consumption of whole wheat bread from modern cultivars is required to achieve the same percentage of recommended dietary allowance levels contributed by most of the older cultivars. The decrease in mineral concentration over the past 120 years occurs primarily in the soft white wheat market class, whereas in the hard red market class it has remained largely constant over time. This suggests that plant breeders, through intentional selection of low ash content in soft white wheat cultivars, have contributed to the decreased mineral nutrient concentration in modern wheat cultivars. These results contradict the theory that there exists a genetically based, biological trade-off between yield and mineral concentrations. Therefore, using the abundant variation present in wheat cultivars, it should be possible to improve mineral concentrations in modern cultivars without negatively affecting yield.
Over three billion people are currently micronutrient (i.e. micronutrient elements and vitamins) malnourished, resulting in egregious societal costs including learning disabilities among children, increased morbidity and mortality rates, lower worker productivity, and high healthcare costs, all factors diminishing human potential, felicity, and national economic development. Nutritional deficiencies (e.g. iron, zinc, vitamin A) account for almost two-thirds of the childhood death worldwide. Most of those afflicted are dependent on staple crops for their sustenance. Importantly, these crops can be enriched (i.e. 'biofortified') with micronutrients using plant breeding and/or transgenic strategies, because micronutrient enrichment traits exist within their genomes that can to used for substantially increasing micronutrient levels in these foods without negatively impacting crop productivity. Furthermore, 'proof of concept' studies have been published using transgenic approaches to biofortify staple crops (e.g. high beta-carotene 'golden rice' grain, high ferritin-Fe rice grain, etc). In addition, micronutrient element enrichment of seeds can increase crop yields when sowed to micronutrient-poor soils, assuring their adoption by farmers. Bioavailability issues must be addressed when employing plant breeding and/or transgenic approaches to reduce micronutrient malnutrition. Enhancing substances (e.g. ascorbic acid, S-containing amino acids, etc) that promote micronutrient bioavailability or decreasing antinutrient substances (e.g. phytate, polyphenolics, etc) that inhibit micronutrient bioavailability, are both options that could be pursued, but the latter approach should be used with caution. The world's agricultural community should adopt plant breeding and other genetic technologies to improve human health, and the world's nutrition and health communities should support these efforts. Sustainable solutions to this enormous global problem of 'hidden hunger' will not come without employing agricultural approaches.
Biofortification (increasing the micronutrient content of food before harvest) has been successfully used to nutritionally improve staple foods in low- and middle-income countries. This approach could also help address micronutrient shortfalls in at-risk populations in high-income countries (HICs), however, the potential of biofortification interventions in this context is not well understood. The aim of this scoping review is to assess the nature and extent of available research evidence on biofortified foods in relation to human consumption in HICs. Literature searches were conducted in MEDLINE, WoS, ProQuest, CINAHL, AGRIS and Epistemonikos. Forty-six peer-reviewed articles were included. Most research was conducted in the USA (n = 15) and Italy (n = 11), on cereal crops (n = 14) and vegetables (n = 11), and on selenium (n = 12) and provitamin A (n = 11). Seven research domains were identified in the literature: bioavailability (n = 17); nutrient stability (n = 11); opinions and attitudes (n = 9); functionality (n = 9); sensory properties (n = 2); safety (n = 1); and modeling (n = 1). Evidence from HICs in each domain is limited. There is a need for more research particularly in areas sensitive to the cultural and socio-economic context.
Given the growing interest in the role of zinc in the onset and progression of diseases, there is a crucial demand for reliable methods to modulate zinc homeostasis. Using a dietary approach, we provide validated strategies to alter whole-body zinc in mice, applicable across species. For confirmation of zinc status, animal growth rates as well as plasma and urine zinc levels were evaluated. The accessible and cost-effective methodology outlined will increase scientific rigor, ensuring reproducibility in studies exploring the impact of zinc deficiency and repletion on the onset and progression of diseases.
Numerous developing nations face epidemics that are characterized by nutritional deficiencies in both humans and animals. A further threat to nutritional quality is posed by the lack of dietary diversity, which consists predominantly of cereal-based crops lacking in essential mineral nutrients. Cereals and pulses are major food crops in backward countries; however, they often lack essential compounds, macronutrients, and micronutrients, resulting in imbalanced nutrition. Widespread malnutrition, characterized by ailments such as anemia, rickets, and scurvy, is a direct consequence of this nutritional imbalance. It is crucial to bio-fortify cereals and pulses to provide the population with balanced diets and reduce malnutrition. New breeding techniques (NBTs) such as gene editing, gene overexpression, and gene transfer from wild relatives offer alternative avenues to obtain crops with optimal nutritional profiles. This review delves into the significance of bio fortification in enhancing food crops and explores the utilization of advanced breeding methods for the development of novel bio fortified crop varieties, thereby tackling nutritional security within the realm of agriculture. It conveys a message to researchers regarding the considerable potential of bio fortification to enhance crop productivity while enriching crops with additional nutrients.
The aim of this work is to study the effect of complex fertilizers containing macronutrients and micronutrients in a chelate form, Nutrivant Plus Cereal and Helatonik, applied as foliar nutrients, on the grain yield and the quality of Volgar’ spring barley. Grain yield increases to 26% in the years of insufficient moisture (HCS = 0.4–0.6). Moisture availability during the period from mid-May until the end of June (r = 0.86) has a significant effect on the volume of spring barley harvest. As a result of the use of the foliar additives, the quality of grains remains high while the yield grows.
Agricultural innovation has always involved new, science-based products and processes that have contributed reliable methods for increasing productivity and sustainability. Biotechnology has introduced a new dimension to such innovation, offering efficient and cost-effective means to produce a diverse array of novel, value-added products and tools.
Micronutrient fortification of plants through plant breeding: can it improve nutrition in man at low cost?
- H E Bouis
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Breeding crop plants for improved human nutrition through biofortification: progress and prospects
- P I Gangashetty
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Food fortification: past experience, current status, and potential for globalization
- M V Mannar
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Micronutrients and human health
- R P Narwal
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- B R Singh
Narwal, R. P., Malik, R. S., Malhotra, S. K., & Singh, B. R. (2017). Micronutrients and human health.
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