Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Dec:214:373-377.
doi: 10.1016/j.fcr.2017.09.030.

Genetic impact of Rht dwarfing genes on grain micronutrients concentration in wheat

Govindan Velu  1 , Ravi P Singh  1 , Julio Huerta  1   2 , Carlos Guzmán  1
Affiliations

Genetic impact of Rht dwarfing genes on grain micronutrients concentration in wheat

Govindan Velu et al. Field Crops Res. 2017 Dec.

Abstract

Wheat is a major staple food crop providing about 20% of dietary energy and proteins, and food products made of whole grain wheat are a major source of micronutrients like Zinc (Zn), Iron (Fe), Manganese (Mn), Magnesium (Mg), Vitamin B and E. Wheat provides about 40% intake of essential micronutrients by humans in the developing countries relying on wheat based diets. Varieties with genetically enhanced levels of grain micronutrient concentrations can provide a cost-effective and sustainable option to resource poor wheat consumers. To determine the effects of commonly deployed dwarfing genes on wheat grain Zn, Fe, Mn and Mg concentrations, nine bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) and six durum wheat (T. turgidum) isoline pairs differing for Rht1 (= Rht-B1b) and one bread wheat pair for Rht2 (= Rht-D1b) dwarfing genes were evaluated for three crop seasons at N.E. Borlaug Research Station, Cd. Obregon, Sonora, Mexico. Presence of dwarfing genes have significantly reduced grain Zn concentration by 3.9 ppm (range 1.9-10.0 ppm), and Fe by 3.2 ppm (range 1.0-14.4 ppm). On the average, about 94 ppm Mg and 6 ppm Mn reductions occurred in semidwarf varieties compared to tall varieties. The thousand kernel weight (TKW) of semidwarf isolines was 2.6 g (range 0.7-5.6 g) lower than the tall counterparts whereas the plant height decreased by 25 cm (range 16-37 cm). Reductions for all traits in semidwarfs were genotype dependent and the magnitude of height reductions did not correlate with reductions in micronutrient concentrations in wheat grain. We conclude that increased grain yield potential of semidwarf wheat varieties is associated with reduced grain micronutrient concentrations; however, the magnitude of reductions in micronutrients varied depending on genetic background and their associated pleiotropic effect on yield components.

Keywords: Biofortification; Isogenic lines; Micronutrients; Rht dwarfing genes; Wheat.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Grain Zn concentration in Rht isolines during 2015, 2016 and 2017.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Grain Fe concentration in Rht isolines during 2015, 2016 and 2017.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Principal component analysis (PCA) for four micronutrients and TKW in Rht isolines (means for 2015, 2016 and 2017).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Borlaug N.E. Wheat breeding and its impact on world food supply. Proc. III International Wheat Genetics Symposium; 1-36, Australian Academy of Science, Canberra; 1968.
    1. Bouis H.E., Hotz C., McClafferty B., Meenakshi J.V., Pfeiffer W.H. Biofortification: a new tool to reduce micronutrient malnutrition. Food Nutr. Bull. 2011;32:31S–40S. - PubMed
    1. Crespo-Herrera L.A., Velu G., Singh R.P. Quantitative trait loci mapping reveals pleiotropic effect for grain iron and zinc concentrations in wheat. Ann. Appl. Biol. 2016;169:27–35.
    1. FAO . 2017. the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations.http://faostat.fao.org/site/567/DesktopDefault.aspx?PageID=567#ancor[Acc... (FAOSTAT. URL)
    1. Gomez K.A., Gomez A.A. John Wiley and Sons; USA: 1984. Statistical Procedures for Agricultural Research.

LinkOut - more resources