Agronomic biofortification of genetically biofortified wheat genotypes with zinc, selenium, iodine, and iron under field conditions.

Inherently low concentrations of zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), iodine (I), and selenium (Se) in wheat ( L.) grains represent a major cause of micronutrient malnutrition (hidden hunger) in human populations. Genetic biofortification represents a highly useful solution to this problem.

Humboldt Review: Potassium may mitigate drought stress by increasing stem carbohydrates and their mobilization into grains.

Potassium (K) deficiency occurs commonly in crop plants. Optimal K nutrition is particularly important when plants are exposed to stress conditions (especially drought and heat) because a cellular demand for K increases. Low K in plant tissues is known to aggravate the effects of drought stress by impairing the osmoregulation process and the photosynthetic carbon metabolism.

Photosynthetic plasticity aggravates the susceptibility of magnesium-deficient leaf to high light in rapeseed plants: the importance of Rubisco and mesophyll conductance.

Plants grown under low magnesium (Mg) soils are highly susceptible to encountering light intensities that exceed the capacity of photosynthesis (A), leading to a depression of photosynthetic efficiency and eventually to photooxidation (i.e., leaf chlorosis).

Micronutrient homeostasis in plants for more sustainable agriculture and healthier human nutrition.

The provision of sustainable, sufficient, and nutritious food to the growing population is a major challenge for agriculture and the plant research community. In this respect, the mineral micronutrient content of food crops deserves particular attention. Micronutrient deficiencies in cultivated soils and plants are a global problem that adversely affects crop production and plant nutritional value, as well as human health and well-being.

Complementary alternative medicine in rheumatic diseases: Causes, choices, and outcomes according to patients.

Objective: The knowledge of physicians about complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) applications is limited. However, especially in chronic diseases, patients and their relatives can often refer to CAM applications. Rheumatic diseases are chronic in nature presenting with a wide clinical spectrum.

Optimization of Potassium Supply under Osmotic Stress Mitigates Oxidative Damage in Barley.

Potassium (K) is the most abundant cation in plants, playing an important role in osmoregulation. Little is known about the effect of genotypic variation in the tolerance to osmotic stress under different K treatments in barley. In this study, we measured the interactive effects of osmotic stress and K supply on growth and stress responses of two barley cultivars ( L.

Feeding Zinc-Biofortified Wheat Improves Performance, Nutrient Digestibility, and Concentrations of Blood and Tissue Minerals in Quails.

The present study aimed to investigate the effects of feeding zinc (Zn)-biofortified wheat on performance, digestibility, and concentrations of minerals in quails. Zinc biofortification of wheat has been realized in the field by ergonomically applying Zn to foliar two and three times, which increased grain Zn from 18 mg/kg (control) to 34 and 64 mg/kg. A total of 180 quails were divided into six groups, each containing 30 birds, and fed diets containing wheat grain with either 18, 34, or 64 mg/kg with or without zinc picolinate (ZnPic) supplementation.

Biofortification of Silage Maize with Zinc, Iron and Selenium as Affected by Nitrogen Fertilization.

Agronomic biofortification is one of the main strategies for alleviation of micronutrient deficiencies in human populations and promoting sustainable production of food and feed. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of nitrogen (N)fertilization on biofortification of maize crop ( L.) with zinc (Zn), iron (Fe) and selenium (Se) grown on a micronutrient deficient soil under greenhouse conditions.

Simultaneous Biofortification of Rice With Zinc, Iodine, Iron and Selenium Through Foliar Treatment of a Micronutrient Cocktail in Five Countries.

Widespread malnutrition of zinc (Zn), iodine (I), iron (Fe) and selenium (Se), known as hidden hunger, represents a predominant cause of several health complications in human populations where rice ( L.) is the major staple food. Therefore, increasing concentrations of these micronutrients in rice grain represents a sustainable solution to hidden hunger.

Magnesium Deficiency Reduced the Yield and Seed Germination in Wax Gourd by Affecting the Carbohydrate Translocation.

Magnesium (Mg) is a particular mineral nutrient greatly affecting the size and activity of sink organs. Wax gourd crop with its fruits having fresh weight up to 20-50 kg per single fruit serves as an excellent experimental plant species for better understanding the role of varied Mg nutrition in sink strength and yield formation. This study aimed to investigate the effects of Mg deficiency on fruit yield and seed vigor in wax gourd grown under field conditions.

Fate and Bioaccessibility of Iodine in Food Prepared from Agronomically Biofortified Wheat and Rice and Impact of Cofertilization with Zinc and Selenium.

Enrichment of food crops with iodine is an option to alleviate dietary deficiencies. Therefore, foliar iodine fertilizer was applied on wheat and rice, in the presence and absence of the other micronutrients zinc and selenium. This treatment increased the concentration of iodine, as well as zinc and selenium, in the staple grains.

Variation in phosphorus and sulfur content shapes the genetic architecture and phenotypic associations within the wheat grain ionome.

Dissection of the genetic basis of wheat ionome is crucial for understanding the physiological and biochemical processes underlying mineral accumulation in seeds, as well as for efficient crop breeding. Most of the elements essential for plants are metals stored in seeds as chelate complexes with phytic acid or sulfur-containing compounds. We assume that the involvement of phosphorus and sulfur in metal chelation is the reason for strong phenotypic correlations within ionome.

Simultaneous Biofortification of Wheat with Zinc, Iodine, Selenium, and Iron through Foliar Treatment of a Micronutrient Cocktail in Six Countries.

Field experiments were conducted on wheat to study the effects of foliar-applied iodine(I) alone, Zn (zinc) alone, and a micronutrient cocktail solution containing I, Zn, Se (selenium), and Fe (iron) on grain yield and grain concentrations of micronutrients. Plants were grown over 2 years in China, India, Mexico, Pakistan, South Africa, and Turkey. Grain-Zn was increased from 28.

Zinc Absorption From Agronomically Biofortified Wheat Is Similar to Post-Harvest Fortified Wheat and Is a Substantial Source of Bioavailable Zinc in Humans.

Background: Limited data exist on human zinc absorption from wheat biofortified via foliar (FBW) or root (hydroponically fortified wheat, HBW) zinc application. Stable isotope labels added at point of consumption (extrinsic labeling) might not reflect absorption from native zinc obtained by intrinsic labeling.

Objectives: We measured fractional and total zinc absorption (FAZ, TAZ) in FBW and HBW wheat, compared with control wheat (CW) and fortified wheat (FW).

Effect of zinc-biofortified seeds on grain yield of wheat, rice, and common bean grown in six countries.

Seeds enriched with zinc (Zn) are ususally associated with better germination, more vigorous seedlings and higher yields. However, agronomic benefits of high-Zn seeds were not studied under diverse agro-climatic field conditions. This study investigated effects of low-Zn and high- Zn seeds (biofortified by foliar Zn fertilization of maternal plants under field conditions) of wheat ( L.

Harvesting more grain zinc of wheat for human health.

Increasing grain zinc (Zn) concentration of cereals for minimizing Zn malnutrition in two billion people represents an important global humanitarian challenge. Grain Zn in field-grown wheat at the global scale ranges from 20.4 to 30.

Molecular speciation and tissue compartmentation of zinc in durum wheat grains with contrasting nutritional status.

Low concentration of zinc (Zn) in the endosperm of cereals is a major factor contributing to Zn deficiency in human populations. We have investigated how combined Zn and nitrogen (N) fertilization affects the speciation and localization of Zn in durum wheat (Triticum durum). Zn-binding proteins were analysed with liquid chromatography ICP-MS and Orbitrap MS(2) , respectively.

Planting seeds for the future of food.

The health and wellbeing of future generations will depend on humankind's ability to deliver sufficient nutritious food to a world population in excess of 9 billion. Feeding this many people by 2050 will require science-based solutions that address sustainable agricultural productivity and enable healthful dietary patterns in a more globally equitable way. This topic was the focus of a multi-disciplinary international conference hosted by Nestlé in June 2015, and provides the inspiration for the present article.