Biofortification of Hard Red Winter Wheat by Genes Conditioning Low Phytate and High Grain Protein Concentration

Abstract

Recombinant inbred lines (RILs) of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) were used to determine whether the combination of low grain phytate (LPA) conditioned by lpa1‐1 and Gpc‐B1 (where GPC stands for grain protein content) alleles would simultaneously increase beneficial mineral concentrations and grain protein without pleiotropic effects on grain yield. Four different genotypes (LPA‐GPC, LPA‐wild type [WT], WT‐GPC, or WT‐WT) were used as treatments in field experiments in Nebraska. Genotypic effects on senescence, grain yield, grain volume weight, grain protein, Fe, Zn, and other mineral grain concentrations were determined. Low grain phytate alone and in combination with GPC increased dialyzed Zn, Ca, and Mn. Gpc‐B1 had a slight effect on grain protein concentration in the tested genetic backgrounds and environments. The combination of LPA and GPC did not lower grain yield, grain protein, or total grain Fe and Zn concentrations. However, the LPA‐GPC combination significantly reduced grain volume weight. The LPA allele alone reduced grain protein concentration. Introgression of lpa1‐1 alleles into adapted Great Plains winter wheat materials can improve dialyzed Zn, Ca, and Mn concentrations without reducing grain yield and, coupled with introgression of Gpc‐B1, provide more nutritious wheat kernels.

Effects of foliar fungicide on yield, micronutrients, and cadmium in grains from historical and modern hard winter wheat genotypes

“…For instance, the introgression of the high grain protein content allele (Gpc-B1), from emmer wheat (Triticum turgidum ssp. dicoccoides), into bread wheat not only increases protein, but also increases Fe, and Zn concentrations of grains while having no detrimental effects on yield [23,[89][90][91]. Nevertheless, this allele is still rare among modern wheat cultivars [92]; thus, the development of cost-effective alternatives to counter the decling concentrations of Fe and Zn are urgent.…”

“…Phytic acid, the main storage form of phosphorus (P) in grains, concentrates in the aleurone layer and forms insoluble complexes with mineral elements, collectively referred to as phytate, thus decreasing their bioavailability [18][19][20]. Indeed, the low phytic acid trait is associated with increased bioavailability of mineral elements in wheat flour [21][22][23]. In one report, this antinutritional compound steadily increased during the last eighty years of crop development in Pakistan [24]; however, there are no studies on the temporal trends of phytate concentration in cultivars derived from the last century of plant breeding in the Great Plains.…”

Registration of Great Plains–Adapted Reduced Phytate Winter Wheat Germplasm

“…Phytate also can have adverse effects on protein digestion and amino acid availability in swine and poultry (Selle et al, 2012). In field trials across Nebraska in 2016 and 2017, the reduction of phytate in experimental wheat lines was associated with a 17% increase in bioaccessible zinc and a 16% increase in bioaccessible calcium in wheat grain (Venegas, 2018).…”

Zinc in plants: Integrating homeostasis and biofortification

“…22). Winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) recombinant inbred lines with enhanced dialyzed Zn and Fe (used as a predictor of bioavailability) as well as protein content in grains were produced by crossing low-PA (lpa1-1) and high grain protein content (Gpc-B1) lines (Venegas et al, 2018). These studies, as well as other QTL analyses, underpin a genetic separation between the determinants of grain Zn and PA content, with altered PA levels having no effect on whole-grain Zn concentrations (Stangoulis et al, 2007).…”