Phytic acid, iron and zinc content in wheat ploidy levels and amphiploids: the impact of genotype and planting seasons

ABSTRACT

Micronutrient deficiency is one of the most common and widespread nutritional issues. Among the factors mitigating the bioavailability of Zn (zinc) and Fe (iron), phytic acid plays a key role; therefore, in order to scrutinize genetic alterations ‎related to micronutrient and phytate contents, we examined the concentrations of zinc, iron, and phytic acid, as well as its mole ratio to ‎zinc in various wheat species grown in two planting seasons. The concentrations of phytic acid and its mole ratio to zinc were 0.61‒1.55 g kg⁻¹ dry weight and 1.88‒4.17 for autumn, and 0.97‒2.02 g kg⁻¹ dry weight and 2.10‒4.05 for spring planting. There was a significant discrepancy among wheat species; tritipyrum had the highest concentration of iron, phytic acid and its mole ratio to zinc, and T. monococcum and T. aestivum recorded reasonable zinc bioavailability. Correlation studies between grain phytic acid concentrations and other measured traits revealed various relationships, denoting an irrefutable impact of planting season and wheat ploidy levels on modification of wheat genotypes. The characters contributing more positively with principal component (PC) 1 were Zn and Fe under spring planting and Fe under autumn planting. Spike number per square meter, biological yield and grain yield in spring cultivation, and grain zinc concentration in autumn cultivation were positively correlated to principal component (PC) 2. Given that the concentration of Fe and Zn in all the studied genotypes is relatively high and due to the existence of other desirable agronomic traits, this study believes that it could possibly enhance the applicability of some of these genotypes for breeding purposes.

KEYWORDS:

• Wheat species
• phytic acid
• iron
• zinc
• planting period

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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