Plant Biotechnology

Cereals, such as rice and wheat, are important source of food worldwide but they contain very low levels of bioavailable micronutrients (such as iron and zinc) for a balanced human diet. Thus, micronutrient malnutrition is a serious global health challenge. Biofortification of edible plant parts has been proposed as the most relevant options to combat micronutrient malnutrition. In our group, we contribute towards cereal biofortification through biotechnological approaches.

Furthermore, plants are known to maintain metal ion homeostasis through sophisticated mechanisms that tightly control the acquisition and distribution of metal ions to the specific compartments and for storage. We study the molecular mechanisms underlying micro-nutrient composition in the cereal grains, focusing on zinc and iron. These metal homeostasis studies are expected to provide novel insights into molecular and agronomic aspects of plant biofortification of essential micro-nutrients.

In addition to engineering for micronutrient traits, we are interested in screening of cereal germplasm for novel stress related traits (including drought tolerance in rice and resistance to rice blast).  It is of utmost importance for crop breeding to uncover the underlying genetic components from un-adapted germplasm that have poor agronomic performance but stronger tolerance mechanisms against biotic and abiotic stresses. Subsequent transfer of these genetic components to elite high-yielding varieties will allow closing yield gaps, ultimately contributing towards food security.

• Novel rice iron biofortification approaches using expression of ZmYS1 and OsTOM1 controlled by tissue-specific promoters
  Kawakami, Yuta; Gruissem, Wilhelm; Bhullar, Navreet K.
  Journal Of Experimental Botany  10.1093/jxb/erac214  JUN 2022
• Delineating the future of iron biofortification studies in rice: challenges and future perspectives
  Kawakami, Yuta; Bhullar, Navreet K.
  Journal Of Experimental Botany  10.1093/jxb/eraa446 Published: MAR 17 2021
• Iron deficiency triggered transcriptome changes in bread wheat
  Wang, Meng; Gong, Jiazhen; Bhullar, Navreet K.
  Computational And Structural Biotechnology Journal, 10.1016/j.csbj.2020.09.009  2020
• Multiplying the efficiency and impact of biofortification through metabolic engineering
  Van Der Straeten, Dominique; Bhullar, Navreet K.; De Steur, Hans; Gruissem, Wilhelm; MacKenzie, Donald; et al.
  Nature Communications  DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-19020-4  OCT 15 2020
• Genome Wide Analysis of the Transcriptional Profiles in Different Regions of the Developing Rice Grains
  Wu, Ting-Ying; Mueller, Marlen; Gruissem, Wilhelm; Bhullar, Navreet K.
  Rice  DOI: 10.1186/s12284-020-00421-4  SEP 7 2020
• Potential Implications of Interactions between Fe and S on Cereal Fe Biofortification
  Kawakami, Yuta; Bhullar, Navreet K.
  International Journal Of Molecular Sciences  DOI: 10.3390/ijms21082827  Published: APR 2020
• Targeting intracellular transport combined with efficient uptake and storage significantly increases grain iron and zinc levels in rice
  Wu, Ting-Ying; Gruissem, Wilhelm; Bhullar, Navreet K.
  PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY JOURNAL, 17 (1):9-20; 10.1111/pbi.12943 JAN 2019
• Molecular processes in iron and zinc homeostasis and their modulation for biofortification in rice
  Kawakami, Y; Bhullar, NK
  JOURNAL OF INTEGRATIVE PLANT BIOLOGY, 60 (12):1181-1198; SI 10.1111/jipb.12751 DEC 2018
• Facilitated citrate-dependent iron translocation increases rice endosperm iron and zinc concentrations
  Wu, Ting-Ying; Gruissem, Wilhelm; Bhullar, Navreet K.
  PLANT SCIENCE, 270 13-22; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plantsci.2018.02.002 MAY 2018
• Iron biofortification in the 21st century: setting realistic targets, overcoming obstacles, and new strategies for healthy nutrition 
  Vasconcelos, Marta W; Gruissem, Wilhelm; Bhullar, Navreet K. 
  CURRENT OPINION IN BIOTECHNOLOGY, 44: 8-15 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copbio.2016.10.001 APR 2017
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• Micronutrient biofortification of cereals
• Metal homeostasis in plants
• Plant biotic and abiotic stresses
• Allele/gene mining from genetic resources

• Molecular basis of plant metal homeostasis
• Crop improvement and molecular plant breeding