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Biotechnological advancements in alfalfa improvement

  • Plant Genetics ∙ Review
  • Published:
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Abstract

Review of biotechnology research in alfalfa shows that molecular techniques are extensively being used for basic and applied research toward alfalfa improvement. Biotechnological approaches have been used in two major areas, genomics and transgenics. In genomics, molecular markers, structural and functional genomics allowed identification of genes of interest and their regulatory components. Alfalfa being obstinate to genetic and genomic analysis, comparative genomics is used for molecular and genetic dissection of various plant processes in alfalfa. Alternatively, transgenic approach involves incorporation of specific and useful genes into alfalfa to improve the traits of interest. Input traits to improve agronomic performance and output traits to improve forage quality, or to produce novel industrial/pharmaceutical proteins, are the focus of current transgenic research in alfalfa. However, transgenic approach is controversial requiring cautious experimental design to combat bioisafety concerns. Ideally, forage alfalfa needs to possess more fermentable carbohydrates, proteins with balanced amino acid profile that degrade slower in rumen, improved winter hardiness, better water use efficiency, pest resistance and no anti-quality factors. Concerted efforts are required to bring together maximum of these characteristic features into the alfalfa plant.

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Abbreviations

AFLP:

Amplified fragment length polymorphism

Bt:

Bacillus thuringiensis

CAD:

Cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase

EST:

Expressed sequence tag

GM:

Genetically modified

GMO:

Genetically modified organism

IPM:

Integrated pest management

MAS:

Marker assisted selection

QTL:

Quantitative trait loci

RAPD:

Random amplified polymorphic DNA

RFLP:

Restriction fragment length polymorphism

RR:

Roundup ready

SFP:

Single feature polymorphism

SNP:

Single nucleotide polymorphism

SRAP:

Sequence related amplified polymorphism

SSR:

Simple sequence repeat

STS:

Sequence tagged site

WUE:

Water use efficiency

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Acknowledgements

The author wish to thank Indian Council of Agricultural Research, and the US Department of Agriculture for the financial support. Author is also thankful to the International Agriculture Program, University of Missouri and Prof. Hari B. Krishnan for hosting the Norman E. Borlaug Fellow Program. I also express my sincere thanks to Nathan Oehrle for proofreading and anonymous reviewers for very critical review of the manuscript.

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  1. Division of Crop Improvement, Indian Grassland and Fodder Research Institute, Jhansi, 284003, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Suresh Kumar

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Kumar, S. Biotechnological advancements in alfalfa improvement. J Appl Genetics 52, 111–124 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13353-011-0028-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13353-011-0028-2

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