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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 #330483
Title: Improving selenium nutritional value of major crops

Author
item Li, Li
item AVILA, FABRICIO - Cornell University
item SOUZA, GUILHERME - Cornell University
item BOLDRIN, PAULO - Cornell University
item FIGUEIREDO, MARISLAINE - Cornell University
item FAQUIN, V. - Universidade Federal De Lavras
item ANDRADE, M. - Universidade Federal De Lavras
item GUILHERME, LUIZ - Universidade Federal De Lavras
item RAMOS, SILVA - Cornell University

Submitted to: Meeting Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/18/2015
Publication Date: 10/18/2015
Citation: Li, L., Avila, F., Souza, G., Boldrin, P., Figueiredo, M., Faquin, V., Andrade, M., Guilherme, L., Ramos, S. 2015. Improving selenium nutritional value of major crops. In: 4th International Conference on Selenium in the Environment and Human Health, October 18-21, 2015, Sao Paulo, Brazil. p. 23-24.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Micronutrient efficiency and development of nutrient-dense crops continue to be one of the most important global challenges. Se is an essential micronutrient to humans and serves as a cancer preventative agent. In order to improve Se nutritional and health promoting values in food crops, a better understanding of Se nutrition in plants is prerequisite. We examined the capacity of some major crops to accumulate Se and their responses to different forms of Se. First, we demonstrated considerable genotypic variation of Se content in representative germplasm of these major crops. Second, we identified better forms and dosages of Se for both plant growth and biofortification in these crops. Third, we uncovered interactions between Se and sulfur and revealed positive correlation among Se, iron, and zinc in some genotype. Fourth, we showed that it is possible to biofortify Brassica crops with Se to accumulate the most potent bioactive Se metabolites without negative effect on chemopreventive sulfur content. Some mechanistic understanding of Se nutrition in these crops was obtained. Our findings provide not only import information for the effect of Se on plant growth and mineral nutrition, but also are valuable for breeding varieties with better ability to accumulate Se along with other essential micronutrients in major crops.