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Episode transcription:
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Drew Lyon: Hello, welcome to the WSU Wheat Beat podcast. I’m your host, Drew Lyon, and I want to thank you for joining me as we explore the world of small grains production and research at Washington State University. In each episode, I speak with researchers from WSU and the USDA-ARS to provide you with insights into the latest research on wheat and barley production.
If you enjoy the WSU Wheat Beat podcast, do us a favor and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcast app and leave us a review so others can find the show too.
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My guest today is Olufunke Ayegbidun. Olufunke is a Ph.D. candidate in the Crop and Soil Sciences department at Washington State University where she conducts research in Dr. Kimberly Garland-Campbell’s lab. Her work focuses on enhancing wheat’s quality and nutritional value, specifically by increasing grain iron and zinc concentrations to help combat micronutrient malnutrition affecting over 2 billion people worldwide.
Before joining WSU, Olufunke earned her Master’s degree at Southern Illinois University–Edwardsville where she studied how environmental stress impacts secondary metabolite concentrations in maize. She is passionate about the connection between agriculture and human wellbeing and is interested in working with growers to ensure high-quality, nutrient-rich products reach consumers. Hello, Olufunke.
Olufunke Ayegbidun: Hello, Drew.
Drew Lyon: So, your research focuses on increasing iron and zinc concentrations in wheat. Why are these micronutrients so important for human health?
Olufunke Ayegbidun: Like you rightly mentioned, iron and zinc are micronutrients. That means they’re needed in very small quantity in the body. But despite the small amount that is needed, these micronutrients play a very crucial role in human health and lack of any of these micronutrients actually cause severe or even life-threatening conditions. So, that’s one of the reasons why it’s important.
And iron, particularly, is commonly known for its role in production of hemoglobin, which is a red blood cell protein known to transport oxygen around the body. And then zinc is mostly implicated in its role in immune functioning, so helping with recovery from illnesses, diseases, and also in production of proteins as well. So, these micronutrients play a very crucial role in humans and improving them is completely essential.
Drew Lyon: Okay, I know every once a while I hear growers talk about these micronutrients and the crop needing them, but not so much from a nutrient standpoint, but from a crop health standpoint. But you’re really looking at it from a human nutrition standpoint.
Olufunke Ayegbidun: Yeah.
Drew Lyon: Okay. So, how do you go about improving micronutrient concentration in wheat? Is it just a matter of fertilization or are you using breeding techniques or genetic modification?
Olufunke Ayegbidun: Okay. So, we’re exploring two major approaches. And I like to think of them as complementary approaches rather than two distinct [approaches]. So, one of the approaches is going to be breeding techniques and the other one is soil amendments where we are applying micronutrient directly to the soil. And why I said these are complementary approaches rather than distinct approaches [is because] with breeding we’re looking to identify genes and develop varieties that can actually maximize the micronutrients in the soil. But if [there are] no micronutrients in the soil, these varieties would not have anything to use, so that’s where the soil amendments [come] in. So, we have to ensure that there is sufficient micronutrients in the soil for the plants to take up and maximize and transport it to the grain. Transporting it to the grain is the most important part, I think, not just taking it up but ensuring that these micronutrients end up in the grain for people to consume.
Drew Lyon: Okay, so what’s the biggest challenge in increasing wheat’s nutritional value while still maintaining yield and quality?
Olufunke Ayegbidun: That’s the challenge actually in itself: trying to make it balance between yield and micronutrients concentration. Many studies have reported that there’s a negative correlation between iron, particularly, and yield. So, the challenge would be finding that sweet spot where we can optimally increase yield while also ensuring that we have sufficient micronutrients in the grain. So, I think that’s kind of the direction where we have to go. What we’re going towards right now is trying to identify how much of a tradeoff is achievable for us to actually get these beneficial micronutrients into the grain without compromising yield a whole lot.
Drew Lyon: Okay. Have you progressed far enough in your research to have a feel for how much value those two distinct approaches might have, say, fertilizing versus genetic improvement?
Olufunke Ayegbidun: I would say I haven’t gone so far, but from literature so far both of them work hand in hand really. And it also varies depending on the kind of amendments you’re using. Some people have reported that using foliar application for fertilizer does a better job than applying these micronutrients to the soil itself. So, I think there’s just many parts. I think of them like parts of a puzzle. There are just so many parts that have to come together and we’re still putting the pieces together.
Drew Lyon: Okay. So, how does your research contribute to global efforts to reduce micronutrient malnutrition? That is a huge issue worldwide and how do you see your work fitting into that?
Olufunke Ayegbidun: Right. Well, thankfully I’m working with wheat and wheat is one of the three main crops grown globally. And I would also like to say that most of the population suffering from micronutrient malnutrition rely on three main grains for their source of food and the three grains are maize, rice, and wheat. But these three grains do not contain enough micronutrients for them to meet their dietary needs.
So, with my research now working in wheat, which is not a new crop; this is what this population is used to already so you’re not introducing something completely new to them. So, [with grains now we increase] iron and zinc so that way the people suffering from micronutrient malnutrition the most can actually benefit from this because this is their go-to produce item that they consume normally and they wouldn’t have to pay a premium for it because, again, this is what they can easily get.
And that’s why I’m hoping that we can work with growers to ensure that they actually get this to the consumers and the results we are generating from the lab can be transferred to people’s table.
Drew Lyon: Okay, so, you know, I guess historically, we’ve kind of looked at increasing yield for increasing calories, but it’s not all about calories, right?
Olufunke Ayegbidun: It’s not. No, it’s not. It’s more than just calories.
Drew Lyon: Yeah. Okay. So, how do you envision your research benefiting consumers both worldwide and here in the States? And could this lead to more nutritious wheat-based products in the market, do you think?
Olufunke Ayegbidun: Yeah, I think so. Absolutely. Like, we have many products that [are] fortified where these micronutrients are added at a point of production and somehow it translates to the cost of these products because sometimes when you add these micronutrients at the point of production, you’re already increasing the cost of production, which might directly affect the final cost of this product.
But, if you don’t have to add them at the point of production and the wheat has high micronutrients in it from the point of growing them, it saves you that extra cost of having to include the micronutrients at the point of production and also reduces the costs of the product, so people are able to afford these products more.
And, bread and baked food, I think, would no longer be looked at as junk food because now they have more micronutrients in them so they would be more attractive options for people to purchase these products instead of avoiding them for empty calories, I guess.
Drew Lyon: I find it really interesting because, you know, here in Washington, we pride ourselves on the quality of our wheat, but the quality that we’re measuring is not necessarily nutritionally based. It’s how nice a loaf does it make. And so, I think this really adds to that whole quality idea that the wheat we grow here is high quality in more ways than one. So, very interesting work.
Olufunke Ayegbidun: Right. Yeah. And I completely agree with that. I think that’s another thing we need to start thinking about. When people say quality, most of the time–just like you mentioned—[they mean] the other qualities but nutritional qualities, so we need to start using nutritional quality among the checklist of the things—like, okay, so we’re looking for the water retention or protein content of the flour–we should also be talking about the nutritional content of the flour. And yeah, maybe when it becomes a more popular trait that people are talking about, then we can take it more seriously. But, it’s definitely something that should be considered.
Drew Lyon: Okay. And, I guess I consider you to be at the forefront of that. Where are you at and when do you expect to finish up your work here at WSU?
Olufunke Ayegbidun: I feel like my mom asked me that question yesterday. [Laughter]
Yeah. So, I’m at the beginning of my third year and I’m making good progress so far, and I’m expecting that I can be done by next spring.
Drew Lyon: Okay. So, we can be looking for the results of this work in 2026 sometime?
Olufunke Ayegbidun: Well, hopefully. So, for my research I’m really exploring, like, what are the particular genes that are responsible for high iron and zinc, so identifying those genes is just one part of it. And then, we have to ensure that genes end up in it.
Drew Lyon: Okay. Very good. So, you’re at the front end of this nutritional improvement in wheat.
Olufunke Ayegbidun: Oh, I think of it more as the back end, actually.
Drew Lyon: Oh, do you? Okay. Explain that to me.
Olufunke Ayegbidun: Yeah. Because, one, you have to identify the genes, which is what my research is. Then you have to ensure that these genes end up in varieties that can be grown. And I also mentioned that there’s negative correlation between yield and iron, for example, so we have to ensure that we’re finding things to strike a balance between.
So, there are still other parts we don’t know but my research is definitely adding to the parts we don’t know by making some things clearer for us. Yeah. So, maybe middle end. [Laughter]
Drew Lyon: Okay. Very good. Well, I find it very interesting and I appreciate you coming on the show to talk about this work in nutritional wheat genetics with us. Thank you, Olufunke.
Olufunke Ayegbidun: Yeah. Thank you so much. It was really nice to be here. Thank you.
Drew Lyon:
[MUSIC]
Thanks for joining us and listening to the WSU Wheat Beat podcast. If you like what you hear don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review on iTunes or your favorite podcast app. If you have questions or topics you’d like to hear on future episodes, please email me at drew.lyon — that’s lyon@wsu.edu — (drew.lyon@wsu.edu). You can find us online at smallgrains.wsu.edu and on Facebook and Twitter [X] @WSUSmallGrains. The WSU Wheat Beat podcast is a production of CAHNRS Communications and the College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences at Washington State University.
I’m Drew Lyon, we’ll see you next time.
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The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed by guests of this podcast are their own and does not imply Washington State University’s endorsement.