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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Ithaca, New York » Robert W. Holley Center for Agriculture & Health » Plant, Soil and Nutrition Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #305058
Title: Genotypic variation of zinc and selenium content in grains of Brazilian wheat lines

Author
item SOUZA, GULHERME - Cornell University
item HART, JONATHAN - Cornell University
item CARVALHO, JANICE - Universidade Federal De Lavras
item RUTZKE, MICHAEL - Cornell University
item ALBRECHT, JULIO - Universidade Federal De Lavras
item GUILHERME, LUIZ - Universidade Federal De Lavras
item Kochian, Leon
item Li, Li

Submitted to: Plant Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/31/2014
Publication Date: 4/6/2014
Citation: Souza, G., Hart, J., Carvalho, J., Rutzke, M., Albrecht, J., Guilherme, L., Kochian, L.V., Li, L. 2014. Genotypic variation of zinc and selenium content in grains of Brazilian wheat lines. Plant Science. 224:27-35.

Interpretive Summary: Micronutrient malnutrition affects a large number of people in the world. Exploration of genetic variation for micronutrient contents is increasing seen as an effective strategy to breed nutrient-dense crops for combating global micronutrient deficiency. We evaluated grain zinc and selenium content in Brazilian wheat germplasm. We found that these wheat lines exhibited considerable genotypic variation in accumulating these nutrients. Selenium addition with zinc further enhanced not only zinc content, but also iron level in grains in half of these wheat lines, showing genetic variation and stimulated effect of adding selenium with zinc in promoting these micronutrient contents. This study provides import information for breeding wheat cultivars with better ability to simultaneously accumulate essential micronutrients in edible grains.

Technical Abstract: Exploration of genetic resources for micronutrient concentrations facilitates the breeding of nutrient-dense crops, which is increasingly seen as an additional, sustainable strategy to combat global micronutrient deficiency. In this work, we evaluated genotypic variation in grain nutrient concentration of 20 Brazil wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) accessions in response to zinc (Zn) and Zn plus selenium (Se) treatment. Zn and Se concentrations in grains exhibited 2- and 1.5-fold difference, respectively, between these wheat accessions. A variation of up to 3-fold enhancement of grain Zn concentrations was observed when additionally available Zn was supplied, indicating a wide range capacity of the wheat lines in accumulating Zn in grains. Moreover, Zn concentration in grains was further enhanced in some lines following supply of Zn plus Se, showing simulative effect by Se, and the feasibility of simultaneous biofortification of Zn and Se in grains of some wheat lines. In addition, Se supply with Zn improved the accumulation of another important micronutrient, iron (Fe), in grains of half of these wheat lines, suggesting a beneficial role of simultaneous biofortification of Zn with Se. The significant diversity in these wheat accessions offers genetic potential for developing cultivars with better ability to accumulate important micronutrients in grains.