Biofortification of Durum Wheat with Zinc Through Soil and Foliar Applications of Nitrogen

Abstract

Increasing zinc (Zn) concentration of cereal grains is a global challenge to alleviate Zn deficiency‐related health problems in humans caused by low dietary Zn intake. This study investigated the effects of soil‐ and foliar‐applied nitrogen (N) and Zn fertilizers on grain Zn accumulation of durum wheat (Triticum durum) grown on a Zn‐deficient soil. In addition, localization of Zn and protein within durum wheat grain was studied by using Bradford reagent for protein and dithizone (diphenyl thiocarbazone) for Zn. Grain Zn concentration was greatly enhanced by soil or foliar applications of Zn. When Zn supply was adequately high, both soil and foliar N applications improved grain Zn concentration. Consequently, there was a significant positive correlation between grain concentrations of Zn and N, when Zn supply was not limiting. Protein and Zn staining studies showed co‐localization of Zn and protein within grain, particularly in the embryo and aleurone. Results indicate that N and Zn fertilization have a synergistic effect on grain Zn concentration. Possibly, increasing N supply contributes to grain Zn concentration by affecting the levels of Zn‐chelating nitrogenous compounds or the abundance of Zn transporters. Our results suggest that nitrogen management can be an effective agronomic tool to improve grain Zn concentration.

Nutritionally Enhanced Staple Food Crops

“…The results of this study suggest that the application of nutrients other than Fe and Zn-especially N that is generally universally deficient in soils-is equally important for improving the seed Fe and Zn in cereals such as rice. More recently, similar results on the effects of N application in improving the seed-Fe and -Zn concentrations were also reported for durum wheat Kutman et al 2010). These authors report that N nutritional status of the wheat plants can have a synergistic impact on root uptake and the deposition of Fe and Zn in seed when N, Zn, and Fe are applied together (Alloway 2009).…”

Hydrolysed wool: a novel soil amendment for zinc and iron biofortification of wheat

“…The N status of plants is a critical factor in agronomic biofortification of wheat with Zn and Fe Kutman et al 2010;Shi et al 2010). The combined application of N and Zn fertilizer has a synergistic effect on grain Zn concentration (Kutman et al 2011).…”

Enhanced iron and zinc accumulation in genetically engineered wheat plants using sickle alfalfa (Medicago falcataL.) ferritin gene

“…Grain Fe and Zn concentration of wheat is varied in different genotypes (Shi et al 2009;Zhang et al 2007;Oury et al 2006) and environmental factors, including fertilizer application (Liu et al 2014;Syltie et al 2005;Kutman et al 2010), drought (Amiri et al 2015) and CO 2 enrichment (Fernando et al 2014). In the present study, transgenic wheat and non-transformed wheat were in the general genetic background and grew in the same environment.…”