Crop Biofortification

Adnan Noor Shah, is Assistant Professor in the Department of Agricultural Engineering, Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering and Information Technology, Punjab, Pakistan. He specializes in nitrogen metabolism and efficient utilization of nitrogen fertilizers by crop plants, and serves as editor for multiple leading plant science and agronomy journals. Sajid Fiaz, is Assistant Professor in the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, University of Lahore, Pakistan. His research focuses on the development of high-quality rice through genome editing, as well as multi-omics approaches for improving plant traits. Muhammad Aslam, is Associate Professor in the Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan. His research focuses on the development of maize and maize hybrids. Javed Iqbal, is Assistant Professor in the Department of Botany, Bacha Khan University, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. His research group focuses on developing eco-friendly and sustainable avenues for synthesizing novel functional nanomaterials from medicinal plants. Abdul Qayyum, is Assistant Professor in the Department of Agronomy, University of Haripur, Pakistan. His research focuses on plant physiology, the improvement of agronomic traits through selection, plant nutrition, and related subjects.

• List of Contributors xixPreface xxix1 Biofortification of Food Grains in Relation to Food Security 1Ijaz Rasool Noorka, Muhammad Tamoor Qureshi, Zafar Iqbal Khan, Kadambot H. M. Siddique and Pat (J S) Heslop Harrison1.1 Introduction 11.2 Agronomic Biofortification 51.3 Conclusion 8References 82 Golden Rice Project and Its Impact on Global Nutritional Security 13Yunus Emre Arvas2.1 Introduction 132.2 Rice 142.3 The Place of Rice (Oryza sativa L.) in Human Nutrition 142.4 Biofortification 172.5 Golden Rice 182.6 Malnutrition 202.7 Golden Rice Project and Its Impact on Global Nutritional Security 212.8 Conclusion 24References 243 Biofortification of Cereals and Pulses Using New Breeding Techniques 33Shumaila Ijaz, Javed Iqbal, Banzeer Ahsan Abbasi, Zakir Ullah, Tabassum Yaseen, Ghulam Murtaza, Rashid Iqbal, Sajjad Hyder, Wiwiek Harsonowati, Sobia Kanwal, Tariq Mahmood3.1 Introduction 333.2 Malnutrition a Hidden Hunger 343.3 What Has to Be Biofortifying? 353.4 Methods to Address Hunger 363.5 New Breeding Techniques 373.6 Role of Genome-wide Association Studies 423.7 Speed Breeding’s Part in the Slow Development of Biofortified Crops 423.8 NBT-developed Varieties’ Regulatory Aspects 433.9 Conclusion and Future Perspectives 44References 454 Crops Biofortification through OMICs based Knowledge 51Imran Khan, Uneebullah Arif, Mohammad Safdar Baloch, Asghar Ali Khan, Muhammad Faisal Shahzad, Qudrat Ullah Khan, Muhammad Amjad Nadim, Umar Khitab Saddozai, Sajid Fiaz, Adnan Noor Shah4.1 Introduction 514.2 Advancements in Omics Technologies 534.3 Applications in Healthcare 544.4 Challenges and Opportunities 554.5 Future Directions 554.6 Genomics in Biofortification 554.7 Transcriptomics and Proteomics 564.8 Metabolomics for Nutrient Profiling 564.9 Integration of Omics Data and Multi-omics Approaches 564.10 Importance of Biofortification 574.11 Conclusion 57References 585 Current Challenges and Recent Advancements in the Adoption of Omics to Enhance Biofortification 61Zakir Ullah, Javed Iqbal, Banzeer Ahsan Abbasi, Shumaila Ijaz, Aqsa Anjum, Tabassum Yaseen, Ghulam Murtaza, Rashid Iqbal, Sajjad Hyder, Sobia Kanwal, Tariq Mahmood5.1 Introduction 615.2 Omics Technologies 635.3 Approaches for Biofortification 655.4 Genomics in Biofortification 675.5 Regulations, Consumer Acceptance, Opportunities, and Prospects 695.6 Transcriptomics in Biofortification 715.7 Multi-omics Platforms 71  5.8 Immunity and Infection 775.9 Host Microbiome Interactions 775.10 Statistical Methods for Present Challenges 785.11 Sample Number Versus Molecule Numbers 785.12 Recent Challenges and Viewing to the Future 795.13 Conclusion 80References 816 Role of Nanoparticles in Improving Biofortification: An Overview 89Muhammad Zahid, Basharat Ali, Dilawar Aslam, Swaiba Rani, Aqeela Shaheen, Saddam Hussain, Noman Ali Buttar, Yasir Niaz, Shakeel Ahmad, Javed Iqbal6.1 Introduction 896.2 Biofortification of Food Crops: Tackling Malnutrition and Hidden Hunger 906.3 Strategies for Crop Biofortification 926.4 Nanotechnology-based Approaches for Crop Biofortification 976.5 Nutrient-based Nanoparticles in Food Crops and Human Health 976.6 Mechanism of Nanoparticle Uptake and Translocation in Plants 996.7 Challenges of Nanoparticle-induced Biofortification 1036.8 Conclusion 104References 1047 Role of Seed-priming in Biofortification 113Qudrat Ullah Khan, Mohammad Safdar Baloch, Nabeel Rizwan, Asghar Ali Khan, Muhammad Amjad Nadim, Umar Khitab Saddozai, Obaid Ullah Sayal, Adnan Noor Shah7.1 Introduction 1137.2 Seed Structure 1147.3 Methods of Seed-priming 1167.4 Conclusion 117References 1178 Selenium Biofortification in Wheat: A Way Forward Toward Nutritional Security 121Muhammad Shoaib Ismail, Fahim Nawaz, Muhammad Asif Shehzad, Waseem Hassan, Rukhsar Saleem, Adnan Noor Shah, Muhammad Baqir Hussain8.1 Introduction 1218.2 Essentiality of Selenium for Animal Health 1218.3 Role of Selenium in Plant Growth and Development 1228.4 Uptake, Absorption, and Assimilation Dynamics of Selenium in Plants 1238.5 Se Biofortification in Wheat 1248.6 Factors Affecting Se Uptake and Absorption 1258.7 Conclusion and Future Prospects 125References 1279 Scope and Research Perspective of Lithium Biofortification in Crop Plants 131Muaz Ameen, Athar Mahmood, Sajid Fiaz9.1 Introduction 1319.2 Historical Context of Lithium in Agriculture 1329.3 li Uptake, Translocation, and Accumulation in Plants 1349.4 Conventional and Novel Biofortification Strategies 1359.5 Scope of Li Biofortification 1379.6 Challenges and Limitations 1399.7 Conclusion and Future Directions 140References 14210 Global Action Plan for Agricultural Diversification for Achieving Zero Hunger 145Maryam Javid, Maria Javaid, Sajid Fiaz10.1 Introduction 14510.2 Present Status of Global Food Security 14610.3 Essential Principles of Agricultural Diversification 14910.4 Regulatory Framework for Expanding Agricultural Crop Diversity 15010.5 Techniques for Implementing Agricultural Diversification 15010.6 Evaluation for Assessing Progress in Agricultural Diversification 15210.7 Importance of International Corporation 15210.8 Conclusion 152References 15311 Targeting Tissue-Specific Zinc Acquisition in Cereal 157Azizullah Khalili, Yamin Bibi, and Abdul Qayyum11.1 Introduction to Tissue-Specific Zinc Acquisition 15711.2 Molecular Mechanisms of Zn Uptake in Cereal Roots 15811.3 Enhancing Zn Transporters Expression in Specific Tissues of Cereal 15811.4 Strategies for Enhancing Zn Concentration in Plant Tissues 15911.5 Conclusion 163References 16412 Combating Mineral Malnutrition Through Iron Biofortification in Cereal Crops 169Ambrin Rajput, Qurban Ali Panhwar, Umed Ali, Hafeezullah Babar12.1 Introduction 16912.2 Mineral Nutrients 17012.3 Mineral Malnutrition 17312.4 Causes of Malnutrition in Plants 17312.5 Biofortification 17412.6 Iron Biofortification for Combating Malnutrition in Cereal Crops 17812.7 Conclusion 18012.8 Future Prospects, Challenges, and Recommendations 18012.9 Recommendations and Challenges 180References 18113 Selenium Biofortification in Horticultural Crops 187Ghulam Murtaza, Zeeshan Ahmed, Muhammad Rizwan, Muhammad Usman13.1 Introduction 18713.2 Selenium in Horticultural Plants/Crops 18813.3 Enrichment of Horticultural Crops with Selenium 18813.4 Biofortification of Horticultural Crops and Plants with Selenium 18913.5 Beneficial Effects of Selenium Supplementation on the Production, Quality, and Senescence of Leafy Vegetables 19113.6 Impact of Selenium Fortification on Fruit Crops: Its Influence on Crop Yield, Fruit Quality, and Senescence 19213.7 Selenium Metabolism 19513.8 Conclusion 195References 19614 Magnesium Mysteries Unveiled: Insights into Its Impact on Plants and Human Health and Biofortification Strategies to Enhance Magnesium Content in Cereal Crops 201Umed Ali, Maqsood Ahmed Khaskheli, Ambrin Rajput, Tahmina Shar, Mahpara Khatoon Bhutto, Ghulam Hussain Jatoi14.1 Introduction 20114.2 Functions of Magnesium in Plant Systems 20314.3 Detecting Magnesium Deficiency and Toxicity in Plants, Symptoms, and Threshold Values 20714.4 Transport Mechanism of Magnesium in Plant Systems 20814.5 Magnesium’s Functions in the Human Body and the Health Issues Caused by Low Magnesium Intake 21114.6 The Role of Magnesium in Improving Quality Characters of Cereal Crops 21214.7 Biofortification Techniques for Enhancing Mineral Nutrition in Crop Plants 21414.8 Conclusion 221References 22215 Combating Fe Biofortification Under Heavy Metal Pollution 233Ijaz Rasool Noorka, Muhammad Tamoor Qureshi, Mohamed Behnassi, Kafeel Ahmad, Muhammad Amjed Nawaz, Muhammad Salman Hameed, FNU Abdullah, Bilal Ahmad Khan15.1 Introduction 23315.2 Effect of Heavy Metals on Plants 23515.3 Remediation Techniques 23615.4 Micronutrients to Reduce Heavy Metals Toxicity 23615.5 Strategies to Improve Micronutrient Deficiency in Plants 23615.6 Role of Biofortification Approaches to Mitigate Heavy Metals Toxicity 23715.7 Fe Alleviates the Toxicity of Heavy Metals 23715.8 Conclusion 238References 23816 Biofortification in Vegetables: Enhancing Nutritional Value for Improved Human Health 243Waseem Hassan, Sundas Riaz, Muhammad Asif Shehzad, Muhammad Nawaz, Ahmad Mahmood, Umair Riaz, Shakeel Ahmad, Muhammad Imran, Muqarrab Ali, Adnan Noor Shah16.1 Introduction 24316.2 Nutritional Challenges and Opportunities in Vegetables 24416.3 Biofortification Techniques in Vegetable Crops 24816.4 Nutritional Enhancement of Specific Vegetables Through Biofortification 25216.5 Impact of Biofortified Vegetables on Human Health 25416.6 Challenges and Future Directions 25516.7 Conclusion 257References 25717 Genetic Engineering for Crop Biofortification 263Taufiq Nawaz, Dillon Nelson, Anam Saleem, Marya Bibi, Nitish Joshi, Shah Fahad, Shah Saud, Muhammad Adnan, Muhammad Nasir Rasheed Khan, Shah Hassan, Tanzeel Ur Rahman, Muhammad Aaqil, Maqzia Mushtaq, Imran Khan17.1 Introduction to Genetic Engineering in Agriculture 26317.2 Need for Biofortification 26417.3 Biofortified Crops: An Overview 26617.4 Genetic Modification Techniques 26717.5 Regulatory and Ethical Considerations 26917.6 Environmental Impact Assessment of GM Biofortified Crops 26917.7 Ecological Disruption in the Context of GM Biofortified Crops 27017.8 Impact on Nontarget Organisms 27217.9 Soil and Water Quality 27317.10 Strategies for Minimizing Negative Environmental Effects 27317.11 Genetic Modifications and Agronomic Performance in Biofortified Crops 27617.12 Multi-Biofortification Approaches 27617.13 Targeted Nutrient Delivery 27717.14 Integration with Traditional Breeding Programs 27817.15 Global Perspectives on Biofortification 27917.16 Regulatory Framework and Policy Implications 27917.17 Technological Advancements and Innovations 28017.18 Future Prospects and Research Directions 28117.19 Conclusion 282References 28218 Development of Biofortified Crops through Marker-Assisted Selection 295Muhammad Adeel Ghafar, Muhammad Majeed, Konain Zahra Maqbool, Waseem Ahmed Khattak, Usama Ahmad Khan, Arslan Rafique18.1 Introduction 29518.2 Importance of Biofortified Crops 29818.3 Biofortification Types 30018.4 Marker-assisted Breeding: An Overview 30218.5 Development of Biofortified Crops through MAS 30518.6 Vitamin A Biofortification Using MAS 30718.7 MAS for Bioavailability Enhancement: Use of Solid Dispersion 30818.8 Conclusion 309References 31019 Agronomic Perspective of Improving Iodine Biofortification 315Muhammad Amjad Nadim, Mohammad Safdar Baloch, Qudrat Ullah Khan, Asghar Ali Khan, Muhammad Faisal Shahzad, Umar Khitab Saddozai, Imran Khan, Adnan Noor Shah19.1 Introduction 31519.2 Essential Plant Growth Nutrients 31619.3 The Use of Iodine 31619.4 Biofortification of Crops 31719.5 Biofortification Through Agronomic Techniques 31719.6 Biofortification of Crops with Iodine 31819.7 Conclusion 319References 31920 Applications of Nanoparticles in Biofortification of Crops: Amplifying Nutritional Quality 321Zakir Ullah, Javed Iqbal, Banzeer Ahsan Abbasi, Shumaila Ijaz, Mamoona Munir, Tabassum Yaseen, Shobana Sampath, Sobia Kanwal, Hassan Sher, Zahid Ullah, Ahmad Ali, Tariq Mahmood20.1 Introduction to Biofortification 32120.2 Nanotechnology and Nanoparticles 32620.3 Mechanisms of Nanoparticle Uptake in Plants 32920.4 Factors Influencing Nanoparticle Uptake in Crops 33120.5 Role of Nanoparticles in Enhancing Nutrient Uptake 33220.6 Techniques for Nanoparticle Application in Agriculture 33420.7 Various Methods for Applying Nanoparticles to Crops 33720.8 Challenges and Considerations in Nanoparticle Application on a Large Scale 33820.9 Impact of Nanoparticles on Crop Nutritional Quality 33820.10 Studies Demonstrating the Effectiveness of Nanoparticle-based Biofortification 33920.11 Enhancement of Micronutrient Content in Crops and its Significance 34020.12 Nanoparticles and Stress Tolerance in Plants 34020.13 Regulatory and Ethical Considerations 34420.14 Nanotechnology-based Agriculture Product 34420.15 Future Directions and Conclusion 345References 34621 Zinc Biofortification in Rice – From Conventional Breeding to Biotechnological Approaches 351Swapan K. Tripathy21.1 Introduction 35121.2 High-throughput Phenotyping and Exploring High Zn Donors 35221.3 Association of Grain Zn with Yield and Quality Traits 35321.4 Molecular Basis of Zn Uptake and Transport in Rice 35421.5 Progress in Conventional Breeding 35521.6 Prospect of Biotechnological Approaches for Development of High Zn Rice 35821.7 Conclusion 366References 36722 Modification in Conventional Methods and Modern Plant Breeding Techniques to Enhance Genetic Gain for Future Food Security 377Afifa Younas, Nadia Riaz, Madiha Rashid, Sajid Fiaz, Aasma Tufail, Zahra Noreen, Muhammad Aslam, Mehnoob Ullah Khan, Mehwish Tabassum22.1 Introduction 37722.2 Conventional Breeding Techniques for Self-pollinated Crops 37822.3 Conventional Breeding Techniques for Cross-pollinated Crops 37922.4 Modern Plant Breeding Technology 38122.5 Genome Editing 38522.6 Conclusion 390References 39123 Biofortification of Crops and Vegetables to Achieve Food Nutritional Security 395Fahad Shafiq, Sumera Anwar, Umar Farooq Awan, Zunaira Yaqoob, Sadaf Mehfooz, Maham Ishfaq, Ayesha Ali, Areej Fatima, Ruqayya Ali, Areeba Azhar, Iqra Mukhtar, Minahil Sheikh, and Muhammad Ashraf23.1 Introduction 39523.2 Sustainable Developmental Goal 2: Nutritional Food Security 39623.3 Biofortification: Improving Nutritional Status in Edible Plant Parts 39623.4 Approaches to Enhance the Nutritional Quality of Crops and Vegetables 39623.5 Role of Soil Microflora for the Biofortification 39823.6 Current Avenues in Biofortification 39823.7 Potential Limitations and Challenges 406References 40624 Genetic Diversity and Crop Genome-wide Association Studies to Identify Biofortified Traits for Micronutrients 415Praviinkumar R24.1 Introduction 41524.2 Genomic Biofortification Strategies 41624.3 Capturing the Common Variation in Genome 41624.4 Micronutrient Phenotyping 41824.5 Genomic Traits Associated with Micronutrients 41924.6 Population Structure 42124.7 Marker Trait Analysis of Biofortified Traits 42224.8 Result and Validation – Genome-wide Significance 42324.9 Future Prospects 42424.10 Conclusion 425References 42525 Modification of Conventional Methods and Modern Plant Breeding Techniques to Enhance Genetic Gain for Future Food Security 429Saira Sattar, Razia Sultana, Hiddayatullah, Ikram Ullah25.1 Objective of Study 42925.2 Introduction 42925.3 Nonconventional Techniques in Crop Development 43225.4 Nanobiotechnology 43525.5 Conclusion 435References 43526 Nanofertilizers for Growing Fortified Crops: A Need of the Day 439Umair Ashraf, Muhammad Naveed Shahid, Shiza Ayaz Khilji, Munazza Kiran, Sammina Mahmood, Iqra Yousaf, Shakeel Ahmad Anjum, lin li26.1 Introduction 43926.2 Why Nanofertilizers? 44026.3 Role of Different Nanofertilizers 44126.4 Role of NFs of Major Nutrients to Enhance Crop Productivity 44326.5 Nanofertilizers for Stress Management 44426.6 Efficacy of Different Nanomaterial-based Nanofertilizers 44426.7 Biofortification of Food Crops from Conventional to Modern Approaches 44626.8 Nanonutrition for Biofortification in Crops 44726.9 Benefits and Challenges of Nanofertilizer-based Crop Biofortification 45026.10 Summary and Future Perspectives 451References 451Index 459