Folates (Vitamin B9) are implicated in biosynthesis of nucleotides, amino acids, hormones,

proteins, lipids etc., and thus vital for human nutrition. Its deficiency causes diseases, like neural

tube defects and megaloblastic anemia. Folates are biosynthesized only in plants and

microorganisms, and therefore humans mostly rely on plants for their folate needs. As staple crops

(like cereals) have insufficient folate levels, folate biofortification in plants is important to meet

the requirements of poor regions worldwide, where supplements fail to reach the population in

need. Though the level of folates has been enhanced in several plant species through international

efforts including of the host lab, very little is known about the effects of folates on plant growth

and development. To gain profound insight into this and thus better understand the consequences

of folate biofortification at the plant level, the proposed project aims at unraveling the effects of

altered folate levels at the whole plant, tissue-specific, and cellular level. Importantly, the effect of

altered folates on the expression of genes will be investigated to gain a deep understanding of the

metabolic pathways affected. The outcome of the project will feed into the development of more

effective folate biofortification strategies with least effect on inherent plant physiological

processes. This will be a major advance in raising crop cultivars with enhanced micronutrient

content on a global scale.