Abstract

Biofortification is a process in which plant species are improved in order to raise the nutritional content of the product consumed. The following are some of the main techniques that can be introduced in plant breeding programs in order to improve the nutritional quality of the food to be produced. The rice breeding for higher Fe and Zn content in grain, rice breeding for higher β-carotene content in the grain, rice breeding for higher folate content in the grain, techniques used for plant transformation, transformation via protoplasts, transformation via bioballistics (or biolistic), transformation via Agrobacterium tumefaciens, identification and in vitro selection of transformed tissues, concepts of gene expression and regulation, protein expression, proteomics, mutant study, patch-clamp, were studied. It is necessary to verify the occurrence of variability among the rice genotypes for the Fe, Zn and B complex vitamins; therefore, it will be possible to select these materials within breeding programs. The simple selection of these superior genotypes in relation to nutritional quality, even though by means of conventional breeding techniques, can bring benefits to rice consumption by the human population.

Key words: Cultivated rice (Oryza sativa), agriculture, plant breeding, genetics, transformation, selection, gene expression, micronutrient.