Plant genetic engineering to fight 'hidden hunger'

Date:
October 16, 2020
Source:
University of Go"ttingen
Summary:
More than two billion people worldwide suffer from micronutrient
malnutrition due to deficiencies in minerals and vitamins. Poor
people in developing countries are most affected, as their
diets are typically dominated by starchy staple foods, which
are inexpensive sources of calories but contain low amounts
of micronutrients. Researchers now explain how plant genetic
engineering can help to sustainably address micronutrient
malnutrition.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
More than two billion people worldwide suffer from micronutrient
malnutrition due to deficiencies in minerals and vitamins. Poor people
in developing countries are most affected, as their diets are typically dominated by starchy staple foods, which are inexpensive sources of
calories but contain low amounts of micronutrients. In a new Perspective article, an international team of scientists, involving the University of Go"ttingen, explains how plant genetic engineering can help to sustainably address micronutrient malnutrition. The article was published in Nature Communications.


========================================================================== Micronutrient malnutrition leads to severe health problems. For
instance, vitamin A and zinc deficiency are leading risk factors for
child mortality.

Iron and folate deficiency contribute to anemia and physical and
cognitive development problems. Often, the people affected are not aware
of their nutritional deficiencies, which is why the term 'hidden hunger'
is also used.

The long-term goal is that all people are aware of healthy nutrition and
have sufficient income to afford a balanced diet all year round. However,
more targeted interventions are required in the short and medium term.

One intervention is to breed staple food crops for higher micronutrient contents, also known as 'biofortification'. Over the last 20 years, international agricultural research centres have developed biofortified
crops using conventional breeding methods, including sweet potato
and maize with vitamin A, as well as wheat and rice with higher zinc
content. These crops were successfully released in various developing
countries with proven nutrition and health benefits. However, conventional breeding approaches have certain limitations.

In the Perspective article, the scientists report how genetic
engineering can help to further enhance the benefits of biofortified
crops. "Transgenic approaches allow us to achieve much higher
micronutrient levels in crops than conventional methods alone, thus
increasing the nutritional efficacy. We demonstrated this for folates
in rice and potatoes," says Professor Dominique Van Der Straeten from
Ghent University, the article's lead author. "We also managed to reduce post-harvest vitamin losses significantly," she adds.

Another advantage of genetic engineering is that high amounts of several micronutrients can be combined in the same crop. "This is very important,
as poor people often suffer from multiple micronutrient deficiencies,"
says co- lead author and 2016 World Food Prize Laureate Dr Howarth Bouis
from the International Food Policy Research Institute.

Genetic engineering can also help to combine micronutrient traits with productivity-enhancing agronomic traits, such as drought tolerance and
pest resistance, which are becoming ever more relevant with climate
change. "Farmers should not have to make difficult choices between
crops that either improve nutrition or allow productive and stable
harvests. They need both aspects combined, which will also support
widespread adoption," says co-author Professor Matin Qaim from the
University of Go"ttingen.

The authors acknowledge that genetic engineering is viewed skeptically
by many, despite the fact that the resulting crops have been shown to
be safe for human consumption and the environment. One of the reasons
for the public's reservations is that genetic engineering is often
associated with large multinational companies. "Biofortified crops may
possibly reduce some of the concerns, as these crops are developed for humanitarian purposes," state the authors. "Public funding is key to
broader acceptance."

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Go"ttingen. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Dominique Van Der Straeten, Navreet K. Bhullar, Hans De Steur,
Wilhelm
Gruissem, Donald MacKenzie, Wolfgang Pfeiffer, Matin Qaim, Inez
Slamet- Loedin, Simon Strobbe, Joe Tohme, Kurniawan Rudi Trijatmiko,
Herve' Vanderschuren, Marc Van Montagu, Chunyi Zhang, Howarth
Bouis. Multiplying the efficiency and impact of biofortification
through metabolic engineering. Nature Communications, 2020; 11
(1) DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020- 19020-4 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201016090222.htm

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