Record Details

Transition From Targeted Breeding to Mainstreaming of Biofortification Traits in Crop Improvement Programs

OAR@ICRISAT

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Relation http://oar.icrisat.org/11894/
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2021.703990
doi:10.3389/fpls.2021.703990
 
Title Transition From Targeted Breeding to Mainstreaming of Biofortification Traits in Crop Improvement Programs
 
Creator Virk, P S
Andersson, M S
Arcos, J
Govindaraj, M
Pfeiffer, W H
 
Subject Plant Breeding
Biofortification
 
Description Biofortification breeding for three important micronutrients for human health, namely,
iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), and provitamin A (PVA), has gained momentum in recent years.
HarvestPlus, along with its global consortium partners, enhances Fe, Zn, and PVA
in staple crops. The strategic and applied research by HarvestPlus is driven by
product-based impact pathway that integrates crop breeding, nutrition research, impact
assessment, advocacy, and communication to implement country-specific crop delivery
plans. Targeted breeding has resulted in 393 biofortified crop varieties by the end of
2020, which have been released or are in testing in 63 countries, potentially benefitting
more than 48 million people. Nevertheless, to reach more than a billion people by 2030,
future breeding lines that are being distributed by Consultative Group on International
Agricultural Research (CGIAR) centers and submitted by National Agricultural Research
System (NARS) to varietal release committees should be biofortified. It is envisaged that
the mainstreaming of biofortification traits will be driven by high-throughput micronutrient
phenotyping, genomic selection coupled with speed breeding for accelerating genetic
gains. It is noteworthy that targeted breeding gradually leads to mainstreaming, as the
latter capitalizes on the progress made in the former. Efficacy studies have revealed the
nutritional significance of Fe, Zn, and PVA biofortified varieties over non-biofortified ones.
Mainstreaming will ensure the integration of biofortified traits into competitive varieties
and hybrids developed by private and public sectors. The mainstreaming strategy has
just been initiated in select CGIAR centers, namely, International Maize and Wheat
Improvement Center (CIMMYT), International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), International
Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), International Institute of
Tropical Agriculture (IITA), and International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT). This
review will present the key successes of targeted breeding and its relevance to the
mainstreaming approaches to achieve scaling of biofortification to billions sustainably.
 
Publisher Frontiers Media
 
Date 2021-09
 
Type Article
PeerReviewed
 
Format application/pdf
 
Language en
 
Identifier http://oar.icrisat.org/11894/1/Transition%20From%20Targeted%20Breeding%20to%20Mainstreaming.pdf
Virk, P S and Andersson, M S and Arcos, J and Govindaraj, M and Pfeiffer, W H (2021) Transition From Targeted Breeding to Mainstreaming of Biofortification Traits in Crop Improvement Programs. Frontiers in Plant Science (TSI), 12 (703990). ISSN 1664-462X