Evaluation of iron and zinc in grain and grain fractions of hexaploid wheat and its related species for possible utilization in wheat biofortification Upendra Kumar 1† , Priyanka Mathpal 1† , Sachin Malik 1† , Naveen Kumar 1 , Satish Kumar 2 , Vishal Chugh 3 , Imran Sheikh 3 , Prachi Sharma 3 , Tejveer Singh 4 , H. S. Dhaliwal 3 and Sundip Kumar 1 * 1 Molecular Cytogenetics Laboratory, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetic Engineering, College of Basic Sciences and Humanities, G. B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar-263145, Udham Singh Nagar, Uttarakhand, India, 2 Department of Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee-247667, Uttarakhand, India, 3 Akal School of Biotechnology, Eternal University, Baru Sahib via Rajgarh, Distt. Sirmour-173101, Himachal Pradesh, India and 4 Division of Crop Improvement, Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute, Jhansi-284003, Uttar Pradesh, India Received 17 October 2014; Revised 12 March 2015; Accepted 16 March 2015 – First published online 16 April 2015 Abstract Iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) contents in hexaploid wheat are very low and are further reduced because of the removal of micronutrient-rich bran of wheat grains during milling and proces- sing. Therefore, hexaploid wheat, its wild species and wheat – Aegilops kotschyi substitution lines were evaluated to identify the genome(s) carrying gene(s) for high Fe and Zn concen- trations in bran and endosperm fractions of grains. It is reflected from the results that Triticum monococcum (acc. W463) may serve as a promising donor for biofortification of Fe, and Aegilops speltoides (acc. 3804) may serve as a promising donor for biofortification of Zn in the endosperm of cultivated wheat. Further, among the three wheat– Ae. kotschyi substitution lines, the higher concentration of Fe and Zn in endosperm fraction was observed in BC 2 F 4 63-2-13-1. The work on precise transfer of useful gene(s) from 7U k chromosome of this line is in progress to reduce linkage drag. Keywords: biofortification; bran; endosperm; wheat; whole grain Introduction More than five million childhood deaths occur due to micronutrient malnutrition every year. Over two billion people worldwide are suffering from deficiency of the key micronutrients such as iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn), afflicting especially woman and children of developing countries (Bouis and Welch, 2010). Fe deficiency anaemia has major consequences for human health as well as social and economic progress (WHO, 2013). Both Fe and Zn are present in low quantities in most of the staple crops. Biofortification of Fe and Zn and availability in plant foods could be an economical solution to this problem (Bouis and Welch, 2010). In developing countries, it has been suggested that biofortification strat- egies should focus on the staple foods that dominate people’s diets (Pfeiffer and McClafferty, 2007). Wheat is a staple food of more than 40 countries for over 35% of the global population especially in the † Authors contributed equally to the study. * Corresponding author. E-mail: malik.sundip@gmail.com q NIAB 2015 ISSN 1479-2621 Plant Genetic Resources: Characterization and Utilization (2016) 14(2); 101–111 doi:10.1017/S147926211500012X