Chickpeas may be able to help fight malnutrition, according to a recent study.
Researchers from the University of Saskatchewan are seeking long term solutions to help to alleviate the increasing micronutrient malnutrition problem by enriching food grains with essential micronutrients through breeding and appropriate management practices, collectively known as biofortification.
Chickpea is considered an excellent whole food as source of dietary proteins, carbohydrates, micronutrients and vitamins. It is the world's second most important pulse crop after common bean, and historically is an important daily staple in the diet of millions of people, especially in developing countries.
"To increase micronutrient contents in grains, a clear understanding of mechanisms of micronutrient mobilization, absorption, translocation and retranslocation in the seed-soil-plant-seed- human/animal chain is essential," Dr. Bunyamin Tar'an, one of the authors of the study, said in a statement. "This research is a step further gearing toward this understanding."
For the study, researchers employed a genome-wide association analysis approach using single nucleotide variations (SNPs) and a set of diverse chickpea genotypes consisting of landraces, elite cultivars, and advanced breeding lines from the Crop Development Centre at the University of Saskatchewan to study the genic factors associated with iron and zinc concentration in chickpea seeds.
"Our study indicated that there is substantial variability present in chickpea germplasm for seed iron and zinc concentration," Tar'an said. "These findings encourage the effective use of genetic resources and open the possibility for development of a molecular breeding strategy for increasing iron and zinc levels in chickpea cultivars."
Tar'an plan to further examine the genes involved in iron and zinc absorption, translocation and deposition in chickpea seeds. In the meantime the germplasm lines that consistently showed high iron and zinc concentrations are already being used in breeding program to develop varieties with enhanced micronutrient content.
The findings are detailed in the journal Genome.
