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Report2024Open access

Exploring Ancient and Alien Cereal Germplasms to Advance Sustainable Wheat Breeding for Enhanced Functional, Nutritional, and Sensory Quality

Olalekan, Olawale Jubril

Abstract

Global food security is increasingly threatened by numerous challenges, including widespread malnutrition. Nutritional deficiency, particularly in essential micronutrients such as Zinc (Zn) and Iron (Fe), affects over three billion people worldwide, with pregnant women and children being the most vulnerable. Wheat, as principal cereal crop, provides more than 50% of daily caloric for many populations, contributing essential nutrients such as proteins, vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals. Wheat’s adaptability to diverse growing conditions and its wide production and consumption make it the most important staple crop globally, and a strong candidate for addressing nutritional deficiencies. However, enhancement of wheat’s quality traits is constrained by the limited genetic diversity within modern cultivars. In contrast, wild relatives and ancient cereals harbor significant genetic variation that can be exploited for crop improvement. Identifying, characterizing, and deploying key genetic loci for quality traits, facilitated by modern breeding tools such as marker-assisted selection (MAS),—offer pathways for the enhancement of both functional and nutritional qualities in wheat. This review examines the current understanding and advancements in wheat quality improvement, with an emphasis on ancient cereals and alien germplasms, and highlights the role of advanced breeding methodologies for optimizing the nutrition, sensory, and end-use qualities of wheat across different growing environments.

Keywords

Wheat breeding; Quality traits; Genetic control; Food security; Growing environment

Published in

Introductory paper at the Faculty of Landscape Architecture, Horticulture and Crop Production Science
2024, number: 2024:4
Publisher: Faculty of Landscape Architecture, Horticulture and Crop Production Science, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

SLU Authors

UKÄ Subject classification

Agricultural Science

Publication identifier

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.54612/a.125844vc36
  • eISBN: 978-91-8046-647-9

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/132713