Genome Engineering for Crop Improvement

9Phytic Acid Reduction in Cereal Grains by Genome Engineering: Potential Targets to Achieve Low Phytate Wheat

Ajay K. Pandey¹, Sipla Aggarwal², Varsha Meena¹, and Anil Kumar¹

¹ Department of Biotechnology, National Agri‐Food Biotechnology Institute, Mohali, Punjab, India

² Department of Biotechnology, National Institute of Plant Genome Research, Jawaharlal Nehru University Campus, New Delhi, India

CHAPTER MENU

• 9.1 Introduction
• 9.2 Genes Involved in Phytic Acid Biosynthesis
• 9.3 Potential Targets and Strategies to Achieve Low Phytate Wheat
  • 9.3.1 Targeting Phytic Acid Pathway Genes
  • 9.3.2 Manipulating Flux of Phosphate Uptake and Homeostasis
  • 9.3.3 Emerging Role of Sulphate Transporters
  • 9.3.4 Targeting the Regulators of PA Pathway
• 9.4 Evolution of Genome Engineering for Trait Development in Wheat
• 9.5 Future Implications

9.1 Introduction

Among all the cereal crops, hexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is an important crop that contributes 20% of all the food calories consumed globally (Breiman and Graur 1995).Though, wheat is a good source of mineral ions (Fe²⁺ and Zn²⁺) but the presence of certain antinutritional components limits their bioavailability (Coulibaly et al. 2011). It has been suggested that the micronutrient bioavailability in the cereal crops can also be done by targeting genes that could enhance the total bioavailability by decreasing the concentrations of few antinutrients such as phytate, polyphenols, and tannins. Of these antinutrients, phytic acid ...