Variability and Site Dependence of Grain Mineral Contents in Tetraploid Wheats

Laura Del Coco,Rosanna Simeone,Giovanni Mita,Barbara Laddomada,Danilo Migoni,Francesco Fanizzi

doi:10.3390/su11030736

Abstract

Crop production and natural resource use, especially in developing countries, represents one of the most important food sources for humans. In particular, two wheat species (tetraploid, which is mostly used for pasta and hexaploid, which is primarily used for bread) account for about 20% of the whole calories consumed worldwide. In order to assess the mineral accumulation capability of some popular tetraploid wheat genotypes, a metabolomic (metallomic) approach was used in this study. The metallomic profile related to micro- (Zn, Fe, Cu, Mn, Ni and Cr), macro- (Ca, Mg and K) and toxic trace elements (Cd and Pb) was obtained by ICP-AES analysis in a large set of tetraploid wheat genotypes (Triticum turgidum L.) that were grown in two different experimental fields. Correlations and multivariate statistical analyses were performed, grouping the samples under two wheat sets, comprising cultivated durum cultivars (T. turgidum subsp. durum) and wild accessions (T. turgidum subsp. dicoccum and subsp. dicoccoides). The site dependence ranking for the selected genotypes with the highest nutrient accumulation was obtained. The significantly higher content of Mg (among the macronutrients) and the highest levels of Mn, Fe and Zn (among the micronutrients) were found for wild accessions with respect to durum cultivars. Moreover, the former genotypes were also the ones with the lowest level of accumulation of the trace toxic elements, in particular Cd. According to the performed statistical analyses, the wild accessions appeared also to be less influenced by the different environmental conditions. This is in accord with literature data, indicating the superiority of “old” with respect to modern wheat cultivars for mineral content. Although further studies are required on a wider range of genotypes to confirm these findings, the obtained results could be used to better select the less demanding and better performing cultivars in specific target wheat growing environments.

Highlights

Wheat is one of the most important commodities, with a world production of 750 million tons and 220 million ha harvested in 2016, as reported by Faostat [1]
Two types are prevalent: tetraploid wheat (2n = 28, genome AABB), which is mostly used for pasta, and hexaploid wheat (2n = 42, genome AABBDD), which is primarily used for bread
Tukey honestly significant difference (HSD) test was applied for multiple comparisons of groups and One-way ANOVA was applied to compare the means between the two cultivation sites

Summary

Introduction

Wheat is one of the most important commodities, with a world production of 750 million tons and 220 million ha harvested in 2016, as reported by Faostat [1]. Two types are prevalent: tetraploid wheat (2n = 28, genome AABB), which is mostly used for pasta, and hexaploid wheat (2n = 42, genome AABBDD), which is primarily used for bread. Together, these wheats account for about 20% of the whole calories that are consumed worldwide. These wheats account for about 20% of the whole calories that are consumed worldwide Considering both types, wheat cultivation occurs in a wide range of environmental and soil conditions, and wheat growers face several challenges to reaching high yield and quality standards that are sustainable and economically feasible. There is the identification of agronomical practices or genotypes that may help in reducing the inputs of fertilizers, herbicides and chemical treatments to counteract biotic or abiotic diseases

Methods

Results

Conclusion