Genetic diversity and phenotypic variation for drought resistance in alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) germplasm collected for drought tolerance

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is a high quality leguminous forage. Drought stress is one of the main factors that restrict the development of the alfalfa industry. High-throughput sequencing was used to analyze the microRNA (miRNA) profiles of alfalfa plants treated with CK (normal water), PEG (polyethylene glycol-6000; drought stress), and PEG + SNP (sodium nitroprusside; nitric oxide (NO) sprayed externally under drought stress). We identified 90 known miRNAs belonging to 46 families and predicted 177 new miRNAs. Real-time quantitative fluorescent PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to validate high-throughput expression analysis data. A total of 32 (14 known miRNAs and 18 new miRNAs) and 55 (24 known miRNAs and 31 new miRNAs) differentially expressed miRNAs were identified in PEG and PEG + SNP samples. This suggested that exogenous NO can induce more new miRNAs. The differentially expressed miRNA maturation sequences in the two treatment groups were targeted by 86 and 157 potential target genes, separately. The function of target genes was annotated by gene ontology (GO) enrichment and kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) analysis. The expression profiles of nine selected miRNAs and their target genes verified that their expression patterns were opposite. This study has documented that analysis of miRNA under PEG and PEG + SNP conditions provides important insights into the improvement of drought resistance of alfalfa by exogenous NO at the molecular level. This has important scientific value and practical significance for the improvement of plant drought resistance by exogenous NO.

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Genetic diversity of salt tolerance in tetraploid alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.)

Acta Physiologiae Plantarum ◽

10.1007/s11738-019-2993-8 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 42 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Mohamed Ali Benabderrahim ◽

Marwa Guiza ◽

Mansour Haddad

Keyword(s):

Genetic Diversity ◽

Salt Tolerance ◽

Medicago Sativa ◽

Medicago Sativa L

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Assessment of summer drought tolerance variability in Mediterranean alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) cultivars under Moroccan fields conditions

Archives of Agronomy and Soil Science ◽

10.1080/03650340.2011.606216 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 59 (1) ◽

pp. 147-160 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Abdelaziz Bouizgaren ◽

Mohamed Farissi ◽

Cherki Ghoulam ◽

Rajae Kallida ◽

Mustapha Faghire ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Drought Tolerance ◽

Medicago Sativa ◽

Summer Drought ◽

Medicago Sativa L

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Overexpression of EsMcsu1 from the halophytic plant Eutrema salsugineum promotes abscisic acid biosynthesis and increases drought resistance in alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.)

Genetics and Molecular Research ◽

10.4238/2015.december.16.20 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 14 (4) ◽

pp. 17204-17218 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

C. Zhou ◽

Z.Y. Ma ◽

L. Zhu ◽

J.S. Guo ◽

J. Zhu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Abscisic Acid ◽

Medicago Sativa ◽

Drought Resistance ◽

Acid Biosynthesis ◽

Abscisic Acid Biosynthesis ◽

Eutrema Salsugineum ◽

Halophytic Plant ◽

Medicago Sativa L

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Effect of phenotypic recurrent selection on genetic diversity of non-dormant multifoliolate lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) populations

Crop and Pasture Science ◽

10.1071/cp14280 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 66 (11) ◽

pp. 1190 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

A. Odorizzi ◽

E. M. C. Mamani ◽

P. Sipowicz ◽

B. Julier ◽

J. Gieco ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Genetic Diversity ◽

Medicago Sativa ◽

Recurrent Selection ◽

Selection Process ◽

Phenotypic Recurrent Selection ◽

Total Genetic Diversity ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Medicago Sativa L ◽

Two Populations

The nutritional quality of lucerne (alfalfa, Medicago sativa L.) plants correlates positively with the presence of multifoliolate (MF) leaves. Using phenotypic recurrent selection, we developed populations with an increased percentage of MF expression from 6.7% in the original population (C0) to 77.7% in the fourth cycle (C4). The effect of selection on genetic diversity within and among populations was evaluated. The populations C0 and C4 were represented by 40 plants genotyped by using 25 simple sequence repeats (SSR). The number of alleles per locus was large in both C0 and C4, averaging 6.28. The within-population genetic diversity (HE) overall estimation was 0.723 for C0 and 0.726 for C4, the absence of significant difference between the two populations indicating that the genetic diversity was as large in C4 as in C0. The Nei’s population differentiation (GST) overall estimation was 0.013, meaning that only 1.3% of the total genetic diversity was between populations and 98.7% was within populations. An efficient selection process was conducted without any increase in inbreeding or genetic drift.

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