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Colombo F, Pagano A, Sangiorgio S, Macovei A, Balestrazzi A, Araniti F, Pilu R. Study of Seed Ageing in lpa1-1 Maize Mutant and Two Possible Approaches to Restore Seed Germination. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:ijms24010732. [PMID: 36614175 PMCID: PMC9820859 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24010732] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2022] [Revised: 12/16/2022] [Accepted: 12/16/2022] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Phytic acid (PA) is a strong anti-nutritional factor with a key antioxidant role in countering reactive oxygen species. Despite the potential benefits of low phytic acid (lpa) mutants, the reduction of PA causes pleiotropic effects, e.g., reduced seed germination and viability loss related to seed ageing. The current study evaluated a historical series of naturally aged seeds and showed that lpa1-1 seeds aged faster as compared to wildtype. To mimic natural ageing, the present study set up accelerated ageing treatments at different temperatures. It was found that incubating the seeds at 57 °C for 24 h, the wildtype germinated at 82.4% and lpa1-1 at 40%. The current study also hypothesized two possible solutions to overcome these problems: (1) Classical breeding was used to constitute synthetic populations carrying the lpa1-1 mutation, with genes pushing anthocyanin accumulation in the embryo (R-navajo allele). The outcome showed that the presence of R-navajo in the lpa1-1 genotype was not able to improve the germinability (-20%), but this approach could be useful to improve the germinability in non-mutant genotypes (+17%). (2) In addition, hydropriming was tested on lpa1-1 and wildtype seeds, and germination was improved by 20% in lpa1-1, suggesting a positive role of seed priming in restoring germination. Moreover, the data highlighted metabolic differences in the metabolome before and after hydropriming treatment, suggesting that the differences in germination could also be mediated by differences in the metabolic composition induced by the mutation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federico Colombo
- Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences—Production, Landscape, Agroenergy, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via G. Celoria 2, 20133 Milan, Italy
| | - Andrea Pagano
- Department of Biology and Biotechnology ‘L. Spallanzani’, University of Pavia, Via Ferrata 9, 27100 Pavia, Italy
| | - Stefano Sangiorgio
- Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences—Production, Landscape, Agroenergy, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via G. Celoria 2, 20133 Milan, Italy
| | - Anca Macovei
- Department of Biology and Biotechnology ‘L. Spallanzani’, University of Pavia, Via Ferrata 9, 27100 Pavia, Italy
| | - Alma Balestrazzi
- Department of Biology and Biotechnology ‘L. Spallanzani’, University of Pavia, Via Ferrata 9, 27100 Pavia, Italy
| | - Fabrizio Araniti
- Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences—Production, Landscape, Agroenergy, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via G. Celoria 2, 20133 Milan, Italy
| | - Roberto Pilu
- Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences—Production, Landscape, Agroenergy, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via G. Celoria 2, 20133 Milan, Italy
- Correspondence:
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Pramitha JL, Rana S, Aggarwal PR, Ravikesavan R, Joel AJ, Muthamilarasan M. Diverse role of phytic acid in plants and approaches to develop low-phytate grains to enhance bioavailability of micronutrients. ADVANCES IN GENETICS 2020; 107:89-120. [PMID: 33641749 DOI: 10.1016/bs.adgen.2020.11.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Natural or synthetic compounds that interfere with the bioavailability of nutrients are called antinutrients. Phytic acid (PA) is one of the major antinutrients present in the grains and acts as a chelator of micronutrients. The presence of six reactive phosphate groups in PA hinders the absorption of micronutrients in the gut of non-ruminants. Consumption of PA-rich diet leads to deficiency of minerals such as iron and zinc among human population. On the contrary, PA is a natural antioxidant, and PA-derived molecules function in various signal transduction pathways. Therefore, optimal concentration of PA needs to be maintained in plants to avoid adverse pleiotropic effects, as well as to ensure micronutrient bioavailability in the diets. Given this, the chapter enumerates the structure, biosynthesis, and accumulation of PA in food grains followed by their roles in growth, development, and stress responses. Further, the chapter elaborates on the antinutritional properties of PA and explains the conventional breeding and transgene-based approaches deployed to develop low-PA varieties. Studies have shown that conventional breeding methods could develop low-PA lines; however, the pleiotropic effects of these methods viz. reduced yield, embryo abnormalities, and poor seed quality hinder the use of breeding strategies. Overexpression of phytase in the endosperm and RNAi-mediated silencing of genes involved in myo-inositol biosynthesis overcome these constraints. Next-generation genome editing approaches, including CRISPR-Cas9 enable the manipulation of more than one gene involved in PA biosynthesis pathway through multiplex editing, and scope exists to deploy such tools in developing varieties with optimal PA levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Lydia Pramitha
- Department of Millets, Center for Plant Breeding and Genetics, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Sumi Rana
- Department of Plant Sciences, School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, Telangana, India
| | - Pooja Rani Aggarwal
- Department of Plant Sciences, School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, Telangana, India
| | - Rajasekaran Ravikesavan
- Department of Millets, Center for Plant Breeding and Genetics, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India.
| | - A John Joel
- Tamil Nadu Rice Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Aduthurai, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Mehanathan Muthamilarasan
- Department of Plant Sciences, School of Life Sciences, University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad, Telangana, India.
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Phytic Acid and Mineral Biofortification Strategies: From Plant Science to Breeding and Biotechnological Approaches. PLANTS 2020; 9:plants9050553. [PMID: 32357504 PMCID: PMC7285160 DOI: 10.3390/plants9050553] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2020] [Accepted: 04/24/2020] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Mineral deficiencies, particularly for iron and zinc, affect over two billion people worldwide, mainly in developing countries where diets are based on the consumption of staple crops. Mineral biofortification includes different approaches aimed to increase mineral concentration and to improve mineral bioavailability in the edible parts of plants, particularly the seeds. A multidisciplinary approach, including agronomic, genetic, physiological, and molecular expertise, is necessary to obtain detailed knowledge of the complex homeostatic mechanisms that tightly regulate seed mineral concentrations and the molecules and mechanisms that determine mineral bioavailability, necessary to reach the biofortification objectives. To increase bioavailability, one strategy is to decrease seed content of phytic acid, a highly electronegative molecule present in the cell that chelates positively charged metal ions, many of which are important for human nutrition. All the contributions of the current Special Issue aim at describing new results, reviewing the literature, and also commenting on some of the economic and sociological aspects concerning biofortification research. A number of contributions are related to the study of mineral transport, seed accumulation, and approaches to increase seed micronutrient concentration. The remaining ones are mainly focused on the study of low phytic acid mutants.
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Cominelli E, Pilu R, Sparvoli F. Phytic Acid and Transporters: What Can We Learn from low phytic acid Mutants. PLANTS 2020; 9:plants9010069. [PMID: 31948109 PMCID: PMC7020491 DOI: 10.3390/plants9010069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2019] [Revised: 12/23/2019] [Accepted: 01/01/2020] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Phytic acid has two main roles in plant tissues: Storage of phosphorus and regulation of different cellular processes. From a nutritional point of view, it is considered an antinutritional compound because, being a cation chelator, its presence reduces mineral bioavailability from the diet. In recent decades, the development of low phytic acid (lpa) mutants has been an important goal for nutritional seed quality improvement, mainly in cereals and legumes. Different lpa mutations affect phytic acid biosynthetic genes. However, other lpa mutations isolated so far, affect genes coding for three classes of transporters: A specific group of ABCC type vacuolar transporters, putative sulfate transporters, and phosphate transporters. In the present review, we summarize advances in the characterization of these transporters in cereals and legumes. Particularly, we describe genes, proteins, and mutants for these different transporters, and we report data of in silico analysis aimed at identifying the putative orthologs in some other cereal and legume species. Finally, we comment on the advantage of using such types of mutants for crop biofortification and on their possible utility to unravel links between phosphorus and sulfur metabolism (phosphate and sulfate homeostasis crosstalk).
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleonora Cominelli
- Institute of Agricultural Biology and Biotechnology, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Via E. Bassini 15, 20133 Milan, Italy;
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +39-022-369-9421
| | - Roberto Pilu
- Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences—Production Landscape, Agroenergy Università degli Studi di Milano, Via G. Celoria 2, 20133 Milan, Italy;
| | - Francesca Sparvoli
- Institute of Agricultural Biology and Biotechnology, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Via E. Bassini 15, 20133 Milan, Italy;
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Colombo F, Paolo D, Cominelli E, Sparvoli F, Nielsen E, Pilu R. MRP Transporters and Low Phytic Acid Mutants in Major Crops: Main Pleiotropic Effects and Future Perspectives. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2020; 11:1301. [PMID: 32973854 PMCID: PMC7481554 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2020.01301] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2020] [Accepted: 08/11/2020] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Phytic acid (PA) represents the major storage form of seed phosphate (P). During seed maturation, it accumulates as phytate salts chelating various mineral cations, therefore reducing their bioavailability. During germination, phytase dephosphorylates PA releasing both P and cations which in turn can be used for the nutrition of the growing seedling. Animals do not possess phytase, thus monogastric animals assimilate only 10% of the phytate ingested with feed, whilst 90% is excreted and may contribute to cause P pollution of the environment. To overcome this double problem, nutritional and environmental, in the last four decades, many low phytic acid (lpa) mutants (most of which affect the PA-MRP transporters) have been isolated and characterized in all major crops, showing that the lpa trait can increase the nutritional quality of foods and feeds and improve P management in agriculture. Nevertheless, these mutations are frequently accompanied by negative pleiotropic effects leading to agronomic defects which may affect either seed viability and germination or plant development or in some cases even increase the resistance to cooking, thus limiting the interest of breeders. Therefore, although some significant results have been reached, the isolation of lpa mutants improved for their nutritional quality and with a good field performance remains a goal so far not fully achieved for many crops. Here, we will summarize the main pleiotropic effects that have been reported to date in lpa mutants affected in PA-MRP transporters in five productive agronomic species, as well as addressing some of the possible challenges to overcome these hurdles and improve the breeding efforts for lpa mutants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federico Colombo
- Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences—Production Landscape, Agroenergy, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Dario Paolo
- Institute of Agricultural Biology and Biotechnology, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Milan, Italy
| | - Eleonora Cominelli
- Institute of Agricultural Biology and Biotechnology, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Milan, Italy
| | - Francesca Sparvoli
- Institute of Agricultural Biology and Biotechnology, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Milan, Italy
| | - Erik Nielsen
- Department of Biology and Biotechnology, Università degli Studi di Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Roberto Pilu
- Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences—Production Landscape, Agroenergy, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
- *Correspondence: Roberto Pilu,
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