Overexpression of codA gene confers enhanced tolerance to abiotic stresses in alfalfa

• Transgenic alfalfa plants expressing codA were generated.
• Transgenic plants had enhanced tolerance to heat, NaCl, and drought stress.
• Transgenic plants exhibited better growth through increased expression of IAA genes.

We generated transgenic alfalfa plants (Medicago sativa L. cv. Xinjiang Daye) expressing a bacterial codA gene in chloroplasts under the control of the SWPA2 promoter (referred to as SC plants) and evaluated the plants under various abiotic stress conditions. Three transgenic plants (SC7, SC8, and SC9) were selected for further characterization based on the strong expression levels of codA in response to methyl viologen (MV)-mediated oxidative stress. SC plants showed enhanced tolerance to NaCl and drought stress on the whole plant level due to induced expression of codA. When plants were subjected to 250 mM NaCl treatment for 2 weeks, SC7 and SC8 plants maintained higher chlorophyll contents and lower malondialdehyde levels than non-transgenic (NT) plants. Under drought stress conditions, all SC plants showed enhanced tolerance to drought stress through maintaining high relative water contents and increased levels of glycinebetaine and proline compared to NT plants. Under normal conditions, SC plants exhibited increased growth due to increased expression of auxin-related IAA genes compared to NT plants. These results suggest that the SC plants generated in this study will be useful for enhanced biomass production on global marginal lands, such as high salinity and arid lands, yielding a sustainable agricultural product.