Genotypic variability on grain yield and grain nutritional quality characteristics of wheat grown under elevated co2 and high temperature

23 páginas, 6 tablas, 3 figuras

The progressive rise in atmospheric CO2 concentrations and temperature associated with climate change is predicted to have a major impact on the productivity and quality of food crops. Therefore, food security is highly dependent on climate change. Following a survey with 60 bread wheat genotypes, here we investigated the genetic variation in grain yield and nutritional quality among 10 of these genotypes grown under elevated CO2 and temperature. With this purpose, the biomass production, grain yield-related traits, the grain concentration of starch, total protein, phenolic compounds, and mineral nutrients, together with the total antioxidant capacity, were determined. Variation among genotypes was found for almost all the studied traits. Higher grain and ear numbers were associated with increased grain yield but decreased grain total protein concentration and minerals such as Cu, Fe, Mg, Na, P, and Zn. Mineral nutrients were mainly associated with wheat biomass, whereas protein concentration was affected by plant biomass and yield-related traits. Associations among different nutrients and promising nutrient concentrations in some wheat genotypes were also found. This study demonstrates that the exploration of genetic diversity is a powerful approach, not only for selecting genotypes with improved quality, but also for dissecting the effect of the environment on grain yield and nutritional composition

This research was supported by the Spanish National R&D&I Plan of the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Projects AGL2013-41363-R and AGL2016-79589-R) and the regional government, the Junta de Castilla y León (Projects CSI083U16 and CSI260P20), with European Regional Development Fund, ERDF. E.L. Marcos-Barbero was the recipient of a pre-doctoral contract from the Junta de Castilla y León (E-37-2017-0066125).

Peer reviewed