Bacterial-mediated selenium biofortification of Triticum aestivum: Strategy for improvement in selenium phytoremediation and biofortification

Abstract

The increasing world population has forced the world to improve the productivity of crops. Among other important cereals, wheat is one such a crop which has increasing demands all over the world. It provides ~20% of caloric and protein needs worldwide. Although the use of modern technologies enhanced the production of wheat, it also resulted in decreased mineral content of crops, which include Ca, K, Na, Zn, Fe and Se. The selenium (Se) content in wheat is highly variable ranging from 5 to 720 pg Se/kg. Meanwhile the Se distribution is highly uneven worldwide, ranging from a low value of 0.01 mg Se/kg of soil to a higher value of 1200 mg Se/kg of soil in seleniferous soils. Wheat is among one of the major sources of Se supply for humans in areas where wheat is an important component of daily diet, so it must be maintained in healthy concentration to ensure adequate supply of Se to humans. The use of selenate and selenite with urea crystals and foliar application proved to enhance selenium content, but these measures have their own drawbacks. Bacterial inoculation to wheat resulted in remarkable increase in the accumulation of selenium in wheat plant along with Ni, Mn, P, Mo, K, Fe and Ca. Selenium-fortified wheat is a best option for the daily intake of selenium by humans.