[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/7056\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EBoosting nutrients in crops to beat \u2018hidden hunger\u2019 of poor diet\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMore than \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.who.int\/nutrition\/publications\/WHO_WFP_UNICEFstatement.pdf\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Etwo billion children and adults globally\u003C\/a\u003E are estimated to suffer from deficiencies of crucial vitamins and minerals due to poor diet.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EUnlike undernourishment \u2013 where people cannot get enough calories to eat \u2013 the effects of micronutrient deficiency are less obvious as it does not cause starvation. Instead it leads to a wide range of health problems that can impair and radically shorten people\u2019s lives.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis has resulted in the problem being described as a hidden hunger that affects not just poorer parts of the world, but is also an increasing problem in richer, more developed countries.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut researchers are now looking for ways of improving the levels of key micronutrients in foods that are widely eaten in an attempt to tackle these deficiencies.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018There are people all over the world who are getting enough calories to eat, but are not getting enough zinc, iodine, iron and vitamins in their diet,\u2019 said Dr Agnieszka Mierek-Adamska, a biochemist at the University of Warwick in the UK. \u2018This can have severe health consequences.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAlthough only tiny amounts of these substances are needed by the human body, they are essential for all of the basic biochemical processes that allow us to live. They form key parts of the enzymes, hormones and proteins that run our bodies.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMicronutrient deficiency can lead to a wide range of diseases including anaemia, osteoporosis, blindness, growth stunting, impaired brain development and reduced immunity to infection. The effects are particularly \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.unicef.org\/nutrition\/index_iodine.html\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Epronounced in children and pregnant women\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESorghum\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr Mierek-Adamska is attempting to increase the amount of zinc in the world\u2019s fifth most important cereal crop, sorghum, in the hope of boosting levels of this vital nutrient in people\u2019s diets. Across much of Africa and Asia sorghum is used to create traditional flat breads, but it is also widely grown in Mexico, the United States and Australia.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Many grains like sorghum can actually contain good levels of zinc, but the metal is not just flying around alone in the edible bits of the plant,\u2019 said Dr Mierek-Adamska, who is conducting her research under the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/rcn\/202733\/factsheet\/en\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003EPMTFOS\u003C\/a\u003E project. \u2018The zinc is bound strongly to something called phytic acid, so when the grain is digested, the zinc cannot be absorbed by the gut.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut one particular family of proteins called metallothioneins, which are found in all plants, are able to bind zinc in a\u0026nbsp;different\u0026nbsp;way, meaning they release the metal more easily during digestion. Dr Mierek-Adamska believes it may be possible to use these proteins to boost the amount of zinc consumers can get from sorghum.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe is analysing whether one of these proteins \u2013 called sorghum metallothionein 4 \u2013 is present in the edible\u0026nbsp;grains and whether it can be used to increase zinc content.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAttempts to boost zinc in grain crops often hit a stumbling block. Many of the substances that bind to zinc in plants also bind to cadmium, which is toxic to humans. It means that crops can suck up this harmful metal from the soil together with the useful zinc. But Dr Mierek-Adamska believes sorghum metallothionein 4 is more picky about what it binds to.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The metallothionein I am working with seems to have this ability to distinguish between zinc and cadmium in the laboratory,\u2019 she said. \u2018We now have to test whether this happens in the plants too.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E2,000 proteins\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EZinc plays a role in 2,000 human proteins - a tenth of those produced by our bodies - including some that play a key role in the proper functioning of DNA in our cells. People from low-income areas are particularly vulnerable to deficiency as zinc-rich foods like meat tend to be expensive.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut even in wealthy European countries, zinc deficiency is considered to be common. One study in 2015 found that \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC4446765\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003E86% of girls aged between 4-10-years-old in Germany\u003C\/a\u003E had intakes of zinc that were below the estimated average requirement, while 95% of girls in France of the same age were not getting adequate zinc.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr Mierek-Adamska is currently growing sorghum plants in soil that contains different levels of cadmium and zinc to see whether this selectivity of metallothionein 4 is maintained. In the future, she hopes her work will lead to the creation of genetically modified sorghum that will carry increased amounts of metallothionein 4 to see if this can fortify the crop with zinc.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Hopefully we will get to a point where we have new varieties of sorghum that have zinc in a nice form that humans can digest,\u2019 said Dr Mierek-Adamska.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut modifying plants so the micronutrients they contain are more readily available when they are eaten is only half of the battle as the micronutrients have to exist in the soil in the first place for plants to absorb them. In many areas, soils have been depleted by centuries of farming and erosion, meaning they need to be supplemented with fertiliser.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u2018There are people all over the world who are getting enough calories to eat, but are not getting enough zinc, iodine, iron and vitamins in their diet.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EDr Agnieszka Mierek-Adamska, University of Warwick, UK\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEngineers at agronomy consultants Zemdirbiu Konsultacijos, based in Kaunas, Lithuania, have been developing an innovative monitoring device to determine whether cereal crops like wheat have the right balance of micronutrients in their soil.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThey use a technique called spectrophotometry, which is able to determine the concentration of different chemical substances in a liquid by shining a beam of light through it. Different chemicals absorb different wavelengths of light, so by looking at what light is lost as it passes through the liquid, it is possible to calculate the concentration of those substances.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile the leaves of plants are not strictly a liquid, they do contain liquid in their cells. So Zemdirbiu Konsultacijos claim that it is possible to measure the concentration of different nutrients and micronutrients in a plant by shining light through the leaves.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThey are developing a handheld \u2018\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.smart.agronom.lt\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003ESmart Agrometer\u003C\/a\u003E\u2019 that uses this technique so farmers can measure the health and nutrient content of their crops in the field.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Most farmers judge the amount of fertiliser they use by eye and experience,\u2019 said Kipras Kazlauskas, head of business development at Zemdirbiu Konsultacijos, which is leading the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cordis.europa.eu\/project\/rcn\/213297\/factsheet\/en\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003ESpectrophotometer\u003C\/a\u003E project to build the mobile-phone sized agrometer.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018If they can have information about exactly what nutrients a plant needs, it can help them adjust their fertilising schedule and pick the right fertiliser for the job.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECurrently the device is still about the size of a suitcase and connects to a laptop, making it hard to carry around, but the team hope to shrink it so it becomes handheld and can deliver information directly to an app on the farmer\u2019s mobile phone.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe device works by comparing the spectrum of light passing through leaves on the plant to a database that shows what that crop growing in ideal conditions and with the right balance of nutrients should look like. This can then help the farmer tweak the nutrients given to the plants.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAlthough the team are still to publish data that shows how effective the device is, they believe it could be used to help address micronutrient deficiencies in people\u2019s diets.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018It could not only bring down the cost of food by reducing fertiliser use but also help farmers ensure their crops have the right balance of nutrients that consumers need,\u201d said Kazlauskas.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe research in this article was funded by the EU. 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