From Function to Vitamin-Rich Food Crops: The ACE of Biofortification.

Humans are highly dependent on plants to reach their dietary requirements, as plant products contribute both to energy and essential nutrients. For many decades, plant breeders have been able to gradually increase yields of several staple crops, thereby alleviating nutritional needs with varying degrees of success. However, many staple crops such as rice, wheat and corn, although delivering sufficient calories, fail to satisfy micronutrient demands, causing the so called 'hidden hunger.

Folate Biofortification of Potato by Tuber-Specific Expression of Four Folate Biosynthesis Genes.

Insufficient dietary intake of micronutrients, known as "hidden hunger", is a devastating global burden, affecting two billion people. Deficiency of folates (vitamin B9), which are known to play a central role in C metabolism, causes birth defects in at least a quarter million people annually. Biofortification to enhance the level of naturally occurring folates in crop plants, proves to be an efficient and cost-effective tool in fighting folate deficiency.

Dihydrofolate Reductase/Thymidylate Synthase Fine-Tunes the Folate Status and Controls Redox Homeostasis in Plants.

Folates (B9 vitamins) are essential cofactors in one-carbon metabolism. Since C1 transfer reactions are involved in synthesis of nucleic acids, proteins, lipids, and other biomolecules, as well as in epigenetic control, folates are vital for all living organisms. This work presents a complete study of a plant (dihydrofolate reductase-thymidylate synthase) gene family that implements the penultimate step in folate biosynthesis.