Molecular Breeding for Nutritionally Enriched Maize: Status and Prospects.

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Science
• Human Nutrition
• Plant Breeding

Background:

• Maize is a crucial food staple in many developing regions, yet it lacks essential nutrients like amino acids, vitamins, and minerals.
• Limited access to diverse diets and supplements exacerbates malnutrition in populations relying heavily on maize.
• Biofortification presents a sustainable strategy to enhance the nutritional value of maize.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the progress and future prospects of developing nutritionally enhanced maize cultivars.
• To highlight the role of conventional and molecular breeding in improving maize's nutritional profile.
• To emphasize the impact of biofortified maize on malnutrition in low- and middle-income countries.

Main Methods:

• Conventional breeding techniques for enhancing nutritional traits in maize.
• Molecular marker-assisted breeding and selection for efficient nutritional trait improvement.
• Development and deployment of maize biofortified with quality protein maize (QPM), provitamin A, and kernel zinc.

Main Results:

• Significant advancements have been achieved in developing and deploying biofortified maize cultivars.
• Molecular marker-assisted selection offers advantages over conventional methods due to cost and throughput efficiencies in phenotyping nutritional traits.
• Biofortified maize shows potential to address micronutrient deficiencies in vulnerable populations.

Conclusions:

• Continued intensification of breeding efforts is crucial for maximizing the impact of biofortified maize on global malnutrition.
• Harnessing both conventional and molecular breeding strategies is key to developing nutritionally superior maize.
• Biofortified maize represents a promising approach to improve food security and public health in maize-dependent regions.