Micronutrient deficiency occurs due to insufficient intake of nutritionally poor foods. An unbalanced diet can lead to adverse consequences for human health, especially in
children, young people and pregnant women, whose nutritional requirements for micronutrients are greater. An essential mineral that is often lacking in our diets is zinc (Zn). The concentration of Zn in plants can be increased by agronomic biofortification, which includes the use of Zn-rich fertilizers. The diet of low income countries is based
on cereals, one of which is proso millet (Panicum miliaceum L.), which is adapted to drought and high temperatures. The aim of this study was to assess the success of
biofortification with Zn in two populations of proso millet from Slovenia, i.e. in Sonček population and Odranci population. We exposed both populations to two concentrations of ZnSO4 under controlled conditions in a pot experiment and evaluated the biomass of plants, determined concentration of Zn and other essential elements using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, and assessed transcriptome response in flag leaves by RNA sequencing. We found that the fertilisation did not improve the yield and
growth of the plants and that Odranci population thrived significantly better than Sonček population. Biofortification was successful only with Sonček population, as there was a statistically significant increase in the concentration of Zn in the grains. The analysis of
differentially expressed genes revealed expression of genes related to defense against abiotic stress, especially at higher concentration of ZnSO4 (glutathione and
phenylalanine metabolism, phenylpropanoid synthesis, genes related to phagosomes and proteasomes). This suggests that we used an already excessive concentration of ZnSO4 in the experiment.
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