High-quality forage production under salinity by using a salt-tolerant AtNXH1-expressing transgenic alfalfa combined with a natural stress-resistant nitrogen-fixing bacterium

STRITZLER, MARGARITA; ELBA, PAGANO; BERINI, CAROLINA; GOMEZ, CRISTINA; AYUB, NICOLÁS; SOTO, GABRIELA

JOURNAL OF BIOTECHNOLOGY

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Año: 2018

0168-1656

CTEDAlfalfa, usually known as the ?Queen of Forages?, is the main source of vegetable protein to meat and milk production systems worldwide. This legume is extremely rich in proteins due to its highly effcient symbiotic association with nitrogen-fxing strains. In the last years, alfalfa culture has been displaced to saline environmentsby other important crops, including major cereals, a fact that has reduced its biomass production and symbioticnitrogen fxation. In this short communication, we report the high forage production and nutrient quality of alfalfa under saline conditions by alfalfa transformation with the AtNHX1 Na+⁠ /H+⁠ antiporter and inoculation withthe stress-resistant nitrogen-fxing strain Sinorhizobium meliloti B401. Therefore, the incorporation of transgenictraits into salt-sensitive legumes in association with the inoculation with natural stress-resistant isolates could bea robust approach to improve the productivity and quality of these important nitrogen-fxing crops.