TITLE:
Recent Progress of Transgenic Technology Development for Alfalfa
AUTHORS:
Wenting Liu, Banyar Aung, Abdelali Hannoufa, Tim Xing, Lining Tian
KEYWORDS:
Medicago sativa, Transformation, Tissue Culture
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.9 No.3,
February
26,
2018
ABSTRACT: Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is an important leguminous crop worldwide and it has important roles in
different aspects of the agriculture system, including livestock
feed, crop soil conservation, and improvement of soil nitrogen supply. As a perennial crop, alfalfa breeding for trait
improvement takes longer periods of time compared to many other crops,
therefore, genetic engineering is a faster route for alfalfa trait modification and
improvement. Alfalfa was a first crop in which somatic embryogenesis was
developed. Alfalfa was also a pioneering crop in which transgenic technology
was developed and applied for trait improvement. Transgenic technology in
alfalfa has since advanced steadily in various areas. In this review, we update
the recent research progress in alfalfa genetic engineering, focusing on
genetic transformation and use of transgenic technology for trait improvement
and new trait development.