1. Rationale for biofortification of provitamin A in maize grain
Global severity of vitamin A deficiency
Estimated % of daily calories from maize
Can account for more than 50% of total daily calories in African and Latin American countries with high nutritional deficiencies. In these countries, maize varieties typically do not provide grain with adequate daily levels of essential nutrients – Fe, Zn, vitamin A, vitamin E, B vitamins. The tremendous genetic diversity of maize can be potentially harnessed by biofortification to develop nutrient-dense grain.
WHO Vitamin and Mineral Nutrition Information System,
Source: FAO, 2011
7 million pregnant women and 127 million preschool-aged children are vitamin A deficient

2. Nutritional profile of maize grain
Highest
ProVA
Activity
Starchy food staple
Carotenoids mostly in endosperm
The tremendous genetic diversity of maize can be harnessed via biofortification to develop nutrient-dense grain
blue, water-soluble; red, fat-soluble
Average: 1.7 μg/g
Target: μg/g
Source: USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference
Alternatives:
Chemical fortification
Diet diversification
Supplementation
Diepenbrock and Gore Crop Sci. 55:

3. Discovery and design: Maize that fortifies itself
Maize Germplasm
Phenotypic Data
HPLC Quantification Mature Grain (2 yrs)
8 carotenoid traits
~17,000 HPLC runs
Carotenoids that accumulate in cereal endosperm tissue are synthesized in amyloplasts

4. We collaborate with
Zambia
Our research results flow to HarvestPlus/CIMMYT, enabling MAS for high provitamin A levels in maize grain that surpass target levels
HarvestPlus is part of the CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH)
CIMMYT - International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center
IITA - International Institute of Tropical Agriculture