Trends in Plant Science
Biofortifying crops with essential mineral elements
Section snippets
Mineral malnutrition in humans
Humans require various mineral elements (Table 1). Some are required in large amounts, but others, such as Fe, Zn, Cu, I and Se, are required in trace amounts because higher concentrations can be harmful 1, 2. Ultimately, these mineral elements enter the food chain through plants. Some essential mineral elements, such as K and Na, occur solely as soluble inorganic ions in plants. However, most mineral elements also occur in organic compounds or inorganic salts, in both soluble and insoluble
Variation within angiosperms
Although all flowering plants (angiosperms) probably require the same mineral elements, tissue concentrations of these elements can differ markedly between plant species, even when they are grown in the same environment (Figure 1) 25, 26. Much of the variation in the tissue concentrations of some mineral elements, such as K, Ca, Mg, Si, Ni and Zn, occurs at the ordinal level or above 25, 26, 27. This implies that the concentrations of these elements in plant tissues are constrained by an
Biofortification through biotechnology
Much is known about the molecular mechanisms effecting the accumulation of Fe 6, 17, 72, 73, Zn 17, 19, Ca 29, 60, Mg [74] and Se [21] in plants. This knowledge will be useful for developing functional (DNA-sequence) markers for conventional breeding and molecular targets for genetic engineering 2, 19, 44 to aid the development of crops with increased mineral concentrations.
Transgenic approaches to biofortification rely on improving mobilization from the soil, uptake from the rhizosphere,
Perspective
It is clear that mineral malnutrition presents a significant global challenge. In addition to the traditional interventions of supplementation and fortification of foods, several agronomic options are available to increase dietary minerals. The ultimate solution is dietary diversification, but this is not immediately practical. In the meantime, biofortification of edible crops is advocated through either mineral fertilization and/or plant breeding. It is evident that both these strategies can
Glossary
- Antinutrient:
- a substance that impairs the absorption of an essential element by the gut.
- Bioavailability:
- the amount of an element in a food constituent or a meal that can be absorbed and used by a person eating the meal.
- Biofortification:
- the process of increasing the bioavailable concentrations of an element in edible portions of crop plants through agronomic intervention or genetic selection.
- Fortification:
- the addition of an ingredient to food to increase the concentration of a particular element.
References (96)
Addressing micronutrient malnutrition through enhancing the nutritional quality of staple foods: principles, perspectives and knowledge gaps
Adv. Agron.
(2001)Genetically modified food crops and their contribution to human nutrition and food quality
Trends Food Sci. Technol.
(2003)The nutritional fortification of cereals
Curr. Opin. Biotechnol.
(2004)Biotechnology and food systems in developing countries
J. Nutr.
(2003)Breeding for micronutrient density in edible portions of staple food crops: conventional approaches
Field Crops Res.
(1999)Enhanced iron and zinc accumulation in transgenic rice with the ferritin gene
Plant Sci.
(2003)Dynamics of inositol phosphate pools (tris-, tetrakis- and pentakisphosphate) in relation to the rate of phytate synthesis during seed development in common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris)
J. Plant Physiol.
(2005)Seed phosphorus and inositol phosphate phenotype of barley low phytic acid genotypes
Phytochemistry
(2003)Genes for magnesium transport
Curr. Opin. Plant Biol.
(2003)Expression of human lactoferrin in transgenic rice grains for the application in infant formula
Plant Sci.
(2002)
myo-inositol-1,2,3,4,5,6-hexakisphosphate
Phytochemistry
Breeding for micronutrients in staple food crops from a human nutrition perspective
J. Exp. Bot.
Methods to improve the crop-delivery of minerals to humans and livestock
Transgenic approaches in commonly consumed cereals to improve iron and zinc content and bioavailability
J. Nutr.
Effect of genetically modified low phytic acid plants on mineral absorption
Int. J. Food Sci. Technol.
Progress in breeding low phytate crops
J. Nutr.
Potential for increasing the content and bioavailability of Fe, Zn and Ca in plants for human nutrition
J. Sci. Food Agric.
Breeding crops for enhanced micronutrient content
Plant Soil
The scourge of “hidden hunger”: global dimensions of micronutrient deficiencies
Food Nutr. Agric.
Selenium in global food systems
Br. J. Nutr.
Micronutrient fortification of plants through plant breeding: can it improve nutrition in man at low cost?
Proc. Nutr. Soc.
High-selenium wheat: biofortification for better health
Nutr. Res. Rev.
Micronutrient fertilizers
J. Crop Product.
Plant nutrition research: priorities to meet human needs for food in sustainable ways
Plant Soil
Determination of selenium concentration of rice in China and effect of fertilization of selenite and selenate on selenium content of rice
J. Agric. Food Chem.
How do some plants tolerate low levels of soil zinc? Mechanisms of zinc efficiency in crop plants
New Phytol.
Selecting iodine-enriched vegetables and the residual effect of iodate application to soil
Biol. Trace Elem. Res.
Interactions between selenium and sulphur nutrition in Arabidopsis thaliana
J. Exp. Bot.
Importance of seed Zn content for wheat growth on Zn-deficient soil. I. Vegetative growth
Plant Soil
Effect of seed zinc content on grain yield and zinc concentration of wheat grown in zinc-deficient calcareous soils
J. Plant Nutr.
Phylogenetic variation in heavy metal accumulation in angiosperms
New Phytol.
Phylogenetic variation in the shoot mineral concentration of angiosperms
J. Exp. Bot.
Variation in the shoot calcium content of angiosperms
J. Exp. Bot.
Calcium in plants
Ann. Bot. (Lond.)
Breeding for trace mineral density in rice
Food Nutr. Bull.
A new paradigm for world agriculture: productive, sustainable, nutritious, healthful food systems
Food Nutr. Bull.
Selenium distribution in wheat grain, and the effect of postharvest processing on wheat selenium content
Biol. Trace Elem. Res.
Breeding for trace minerals in wheat
Food Nutr. Bull.
Comparisons of the Cu, Zn, Fe, Ca and Mg contents of the grains of wild, ancient and cultivated wheat species
Cereal Res. Com.
Triticum dicoccoides: an important genetic resource for increasing zinc and iron concentration in modern cultivated wheat
Soil Sci. Plant Nutr.
The potential for increasing the iron and zinc density of maize through plant-breeding
Food Nutr. Bull.
Genetic variation in total carotene, iron, and zinc contents of maize and cassava genotypes
Food Nutr. Bull.
Assessment of concentrations of iron and zinc and bioavailable iron in grains of early-maturing tropical maize varieties
J. Agric. Food Chem.
Genotypic differences in concentration and bioavailability of kernel-iron in tropical maize varieties grown under field conditions
J. Plant Nutr.
Diallel analysis of grain iron and zinc density in Southern African-adapted maize inbreds
Crop Sci.
Environmental stability of iron and zinc concentrations in grain of elite early-maturing tropical maize genotypes grown under field conditions
J. Agric. Sci.
Potential for improving bioavailable zinc in wheat grain (Triticum species) through plant breeding
J. Agric. Food Chem.
Cited by (715)
Biochemical and molecular responses of the ascorbate-glutathione cycle in wheat seedlings exposed to different forms of selenium
2024, Plant Physiology and BiochemistrySelenium bioaccessibility in rice grains biofortified via soil or foliar application of inorganic Se
2023, Journal of Food Composition and Analysis