Hydropriming and Nutripriming of Bread Wheat Seeds Improved the Flour's Nutritional Value of the First Unprimed Offspring

Seed hydropriming or nutripriming has been used for wheat biofortification. Previously, the untreated S1 offspring of bread wheat S0 seeds hydro- and nutriprimed with FeSO4.7H(2)O and/or ZnSO4.7H(2)O showed improved yield relative to the offspring of untreated S0 seeds. We hypothesize that such improvement would have its origin in the higher quality of S1 seeds resulting from plants whose seeds were primed. In this work, we characterised biochemically the whole-wheat flour of unprimed S1 offspring whose S0 seeds were hydro- and nutriprimed with Fe and/or Zn and compared it to the offspring of untreated S0 seeds (control). We identified and quantified 16 free amino acids and five soluble sugars per offspring using high-performance liquid chromatography and the Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) methods. The most abundant amino acids were glutamic acid and glutamine, proline, and glycine, presenting their highest contents in the offspring of seeds nutriprimed with 8 ppm Zn (0.351 mmol center dot g(-1)), 8 ppm Fe + 8 ppm Zn (0.199 mmol center dot g(-1)), and (0.135 mmol center dot g(-1)), respectively. The highest contents of glucose (1.91 mg center dot g(-1) sample), ash (24.90 g center dot kg(-1) dry matter, DM), and crude protein (209.70 g center dot kg(-1) DM) were presented by the offspring resulting from 4 ppm Fe + 4 ppm Zn, 8 ppm Zn, and 8 ppm Fe + 8 ppm Zn, respectively. The highest total starch content (630.10 g center dot kg(-1) DM) was detected in the offspring of seeds soaked in 8 ppm Fe. The nutritional value of the flour of the S1 offspring resulting from nutripriming was significantly higher than the control. Overall, the novelty of our research is that seed priming can improve the quality of the wheat grain and flour, at least till the first offspring, without the need to repeat the presowing treatment. Beyond the study of subsequent generations, the unravelling of transgenerational mechanisms underlying the biochemical improvement of the offspring is approached.

Automated summary

Seed hydropriming or nutripriming improves the quality and nutritional value of wheat grain without the need for repeated pre-sowing treatment.