Transcriptional profiling of two contrasting genotypes uncovers molecular mechanisms underlying salt tolerance in alfalfa.

ABSTRACT: Alfalfa is an important forage crop that is moderately tolerant to salinity; however, little is known about its salt-tolerance mechanisms. We studied root and leaf transcriptomes of a salt-tolerant (G03) and a salt-sensitive (G09) genotype, irrigated with waters of low and high salinities. RNA sequencing led to 1.73 billion high-quality reads that were assembled into 418,480 unigenes; 35% of which were assigned to 57 Gene Ontology annotations. The unigenes were assigned to pathway databases for understanding high-level functions. The comparison of two genotypes suggested that the low salt tolerance index for transpiration rate and stomatal conductance of G03 compared to G09 may be due to its reduced salt uptake under salinity. The differences in shoot biomass between the salt-tolerant and

SUBMITTER: Kaundal R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7933430 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature