Bioavailabilty of Wheat Neutrients Is an Emerging Challenge for Breeders

Wheat covers more of the earth's surface than any other cereal crop and is a staple food in many countries. Processing quality is an important breeding objective, however in recent years nutritional quality has become increasingly important.  In terms of nutrition, most breeders aim to increase the concentration of micronutrients in the wheat grain, However, nutrient concentration tends to reduce as yield (and associated starch content) increases. For this reason we decided to focus on nutrient bioavailability as an avenue to improving the nutritional value of wheat. Phosphorus and fructan are important nutrients related to plant growth and development that also influence grain nutritional quality. This study focussed on P accumulation and translocation in both high and low phytate semi-dwarf wheat material and on variation in fructan levels in the same genotypes.  The materials were derived as double haploids from two crosses and these were evaluated in yield trials at high and low P. Molecular markers linked to both phytate and fructan content were validated in these populations. Up to three-fold differences in grain phytate and two-fold differences in grain fructan were observed. However, grain yield was not influenced by phytate and fructan levels indicating that these traits are viable targets in breeding. In future, the effect of large differences in phytate and fructan content on processing quality will be determined.