Biofortification of Maize Using Accelerated Breeding Tools

Abstract

Maize is the most important cereal crop globally after wheat and rice in terms of area under cultivation; however, the diverse uses of maize make it the most important crop worldwide. Biofortification of important cereal crops is recognized as an inexpensive and effective means of malnutrition alleviation. Significant progress has been made in developing biofortified varieties in maize especially lysine- and provitamin A-enriched varieties. Use of marker-assisted selection has helped speed breed varieties by shortening the varietal development process. Progress for other nutritionally important traits such as methionine, iron, and zinc, however, has been constrained by the lack of robust molecular markers. Transgene delivery and gene editing approaches have shown promise by accelerating creation of novel sources for these traits by altogether circumventing the long conventional breeding methods. Integration of molecular markers with doubled haploid technology and targeted gene editing presents opportunities for speedy delivery of biofortified maize cultivars in the future.