Chinese agronomists are using genetic engineering to create a corn cultivar with significantly higher iron content. Those close to the project are hopeful the iron-rich strain could offer hope to people suffering from anaemia, a potentially life-threatening condition characterised by a lack of healthy red blood cells.
Iron is a mineral that plays an important role in maintaining the human body and is vital in supporting immunity and metabolism. It is a critical component of myoglobin and haemoglobin, two proteins found in red blood cells responsible for transporting oxygen throughout the body.
The recommended daily iron intake for men is 8 milligrams and 18 milligrams for women, according to the United States National Institute of Health.
Data provided by the World Health Organisation indicated an estimated 40 percent of children between the ages of six months and five years suffer from anaemia, and an estimated 30 percent of females aged between 15 and 49 years. Pregnant women are particularly at risk, with roughly one in three presenting with symptoms of iron deficiency.
The staple crop fortified with the essential micronutrient was grown in Henan province, central China, as per a recent report by the state-media news outlet, CCTV.
The researchers, consisting of scientists from the Henan Agricultural University and the Institute of Crop Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), say their genetically altered corn has an iron content close to 70.5 milligrams per kilogram – more than double that is present in standard varieties.
In the study, published in the peer-reviewed blue-ribbon academic journal, Science, scientists describe identifying a gene responsible for regulating the corn’s iron content, which subsequently increased the isolated gene’s expression level, raising the iron content substantially.
The increased iron content had no effect on crop yields, an issue that had previously plagued the fortification process, said Li Wenxue, lead author and senior corn molecular breeding researcher at the CAAS Institute of Crop Sciences.
Li said the breakthrough corn cultivar could significantly contribute to improving the daily iron intake of millions of global citizens reliant on the staple crop. He said while iron supplements are useful, they are often too expensive for those in poorer communities.
ResearchGate surveys show that after wheat and rice, corn is the third most consumed crop, particularly in some low and middle-income countries in Africa, including South Africa, Lesotho, Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe, and several south and central American nations, like Mexico, Guatemala and Paraguay.
http://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202312/09/WS65739bada31040ac301a6ed3.html
https://shanghaiist.com/china-decodes-secret-of-iron-rich-corn-to-address-global-anemia-crisis/
