Biofortification strategies to increase wheat nutrition and sustaining yield simultaneously

Genetic biofortification is a strategy that uses plant breeding techniques to produce staple food crops with higher micronutrient levels and can be a feasible and costeffective means of delivering micronutrients to population that may have limited access to diverse diets. The present study reports the development of wheat with high grain protein, yellow pigment and high zinc content in addition to introgression of rust resistance genes to ensure biofortification as well as yield sustainability. A convergent cross for combining gene(s) for high protein, high yellow pigment, high zinc and rust resistance was performed. This included crossing BC1F2 introgression lines of cross PBW698/BF22//PBW698 carrying grain zinc QTL introgressed from Triticum monococcum with high protein line BWL3560 having Gpc-B1. A set of 192 F3 lines were evaluated for agronomic and quality traits. Molecular marker analysis of F3 progenies for Gpc-B1 gene (Xucw108) revealed 129 F3 lines to be homozygous positive. The progenies showed the range of 8.96-13.92% for grain protein content, 25.1-36.3mg/Kg for grain iron concentration, 34.0-54.0 mg/Kg for grain zinc concentration and 2.01-4.57ppm for grain yellow pigment content compared to 9.65%, 26.7 mg/Kg, 42.9 mg/Kg and 3.74ppm respectively in recipient line PBW698. Therefore, this population constituted a useful material for identifying the nutritionally enhanced lines.