Abstract
Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is a widely grown perennial leguminous forage crop with a number of positive attributes. However, despite its moderate ability to tolerate saline soils, which are increasing in prevalence worldwide, it suffers considerable yield declines under these growth conditions. While a general framework of the cascade of events involved in plant salinity response has been unraveled in recent years, many gaps remain in our understanding of the precise molecular mechanisms involved in this process, particularly in non-model yet economically important species such as alfalfa. Therefore, as a means of further elucidating salinity response mechanisms in this species, we carried out in-depth physiological assessments of M. sativa cv. Beaver, as well as transcriptomic and untargeted metabolomic evaluations of leaf tissues, following extended exposure to salinity (grown for 3–4 weeks under saline treatment) and control conditions. In addition to the substantial growth and photosynthetic reductions observed under salinity treatment, we identified 1233 significant differentially expressed genes between growth conditions, as well as 60 annotated differentially accumulated metabolites. Taken together, our results suggest that changes to cell membranes and walls, cuticular and/or epicuticular waxes, osmoprotectant levels, antioxidant-related metabolic pathways, and the expression of genes encoding ion transporters, protective proteins, and transcription factors are likely involved in alfalfa’s salinity response process. Although some of these alterations may contribute to alfalfa’s modest salinity resilience, it is feasible that several may be disadvantageous in this context and could therefore provide valuable targets for the further improvement of tolerance to this stress in the future.
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Claims 5
Claim · model-written summary
Salinity substantially reduced alfalfa growth and photosynthesis.
- Taxon
- Medicago sativa
Medicago sativat0 - Treatment
- salinity treatmente0
- Outcome
- growth and photosynthetice0
- Direction
- reductionse0
- Comparator
- control conditionse1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“substantial growth and photosynthetic reductions observed under salinity treatment”
t0“Medicago sativa”
e1“saline treatment) and control conditions.”
Claim · model-written summary
The salinity comparison identified 1233 significant differentially expressed genes.
- Taxon
- Medicago sativaMedicago sativat0
- Treatment
- growth conditionse0
- Outcome
- differentially expressed genese0
- Value
- 1233e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“we identified 1233 significant differentially expressed genes between growth conditions”
t0“Medicago sativa”
Claim · model-written summary
The salinity comparison identified 60 annotated differentially accumulated metabolites.
- Taxon
- Medicago sativaMedicago sativat0
- Outcome
- annotated differentially accumulated metabolitese0
- Value
- 60e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“as well as 60 annotated differentially accumulated metabolites.”
t0“Medicago sativa”
Claim · model-written summary
Changes to cell membranes and walls, waxes, osmoprotectants and antioxidant metabolism were suggested to participate in alfalfa salinity response.
- Taxon
- alfalfaMedicago sativae0
- Outcome
- salinity response processe0
- Qualifier
- changes to cell membranes and walls, cuticular and/or epicuticular waxes, osmoprotectant levels, antioxidant-related metabolic pathwayse0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“changes to cell membranes and walls, cuticular and/or epicuticular waxes, osmoprotectant levels, antioxidant-related metabolic pathways, and the expression of genes encoding ion transporters, protective proteins, and transcription factors are likely involved in alfalfa’s salinity response process.”
Claim · model-written summary
Expression of ion transporter, protective protein and transcription factor genes was suggested to participate in alfalfa salinity response.
- Taxon
- alfalfaMedicago sativae0
- Gene
- genes encoding ion transporters, protective proteins, and transcription factorse0
- Outcome
- salinity response processe0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the expression of genes encoding ion transporters, protective proteins, and transcription factors are likely involved in alfalfa’s salinity response process.”
The same questions in other papers
salinity · physiology: photosynthesis · Medicago sativa (alfalfa)Results differ
15 papers in the same direction as this paper · 1 in the opposite direction
- no effect
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- positive
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