Improvement of anti-bloating alfalfa

Abstract

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is one of the most important legumes for the stability of agricultural-livestock production systems due to its excellent forage quality, adaptability to different climate and soil, high biomass production, and its ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen, which reduces production costs related to fertilization and also improves the chemical properties of the soil. Currently, the use of alfalfa on grazing livestock carries the risk of bloating, which can cause disease and/or death. In contrast, when animals are fed forage legumes that accumulate anthocyanins and proanthocyanidins (PAs) in the stem, such as Lotus corniculatus, bloating is prevented. In alfalfa, these metabolites are found in the seed coat but not in the edible tissues of the plant, so they do not prevent bloating. The aim of this work is generate anti-bloating cultivars through two different strategies: the identification of the genes of the PA biosynthesis pathway in alfalfa and the study of this pathway, with the goal of manipulating it through genetic engineering, as well as the overexpression of candidate genes from other previously studied species.