Breeding and Extension for Higher Levels of Pro- Vitamin A with Conventional and Molecular Strategy in Maize

Final goals

The final goals for this project are to extend bio-fortified maize hybrids with enhanced pro-vitamin A, which is significant higher than white maize, in the target regions and to improve vitamin A deficient for poor minorities.

Human Nutrition

Southwestern China is one of most poor regions in China, where most of residents belong to minority people and white maize is a major food crop. Micronutrient malnutrition, such as vitamin A and iron deficient, is a critical problem in southwest China region. According to the survey by the human disease control and preventive center of China, 2002, in Yuannan and Sichuan Province, more than 11.2% of children suffered from vitamin A deficient.

Target region and trait

Wenshan County and Lincang County in Yunnan Province and Liangshan County in Sichuan Province. In Wenshan, 56.7% of populations are Miao, Zhuang minority people, and 60-70% of maize is taken as food. Pro-vitamin A concentration in maize, like beta-carotene and beta-cryptoxanthin, will be initially focused as a major target trait.

Research activity

Research activities include:

to establish a facilitative technique platform to assay pro-vitamin A concentrations in maze grain;

to screen promising breeding lines with high levels of pro-vitamin A among maize germplasm;

to identify and develop two or four maize hybrids with enhanced pro-vitamin A concentrations;

to evaluate human nutrient status in target regions and the effectiveness of the nutritional improved hybrids in reducing micronutrient malnutrition.

Key strategy

Currently, released hybrids of high-yield, high-oil, QPM with higher pro-vitamin A than white maize will tested in target regions and to evaluate the micro-nutritional effects after eating those maize. Due to high oil maize contains not only more oil and high quality protein but also has relative higher pro-vitamin A, breeding for high oil maize hybrids with high level of vitamin A will be an important part in breeding program. Also, breeding of QPM combining with high level of vitamin A will be paid more an attention to.

Technique approach

The three minorities villages will be selected as the target population to evaluate the nutritional status especially on the vitamin A, and investigate the food habit of those populations. Pro-vitamin A will be measured by HPLC and the spectrophotometer. Firstly, yellow maize hybrids with high level of pro-vitamin A will be screened in the target regions in Yunnan and Sichuan Province for adaptions.

Research team

The research team includes three maize breeding institutes, such as the National Maize Improvement Center of China (NMICC) at China Agriculture University, Yunnan Academy of Agriculture Science (YNAAS), and Maize Research Institute at Sichuan Agriculture University (MRISAU), which have very strong maize breeding programs. Nutrition experts from International Life Sciences Institute Focal Point in China are also included. Since 1997, it has been working on the bio-fortification collaborated with the Institute of Nutrition, China CDC.

What has been done

The members of a research team, including maize breeders, agronomists, human nutrition experts, visited some villages in target regions in last May and June.

25 released elite maize hybrids, including 10 QPM, 10 normal high-yield and five high-oil, are testing in target regions.

A facilitative assaying method for pro-vitamin A concentrations using spectrophotometer is being developed.