In June 2005, USDA/FDA/EPA deregulated the Roundup Ready trait in alfalfa. In August 2005, seed of the first Roundup Ready alfalfa varieties was offered for sale. This was the first biotech trait to be commercialized in alfalfa, and paved the way for new research supporting a second wave of biotech traits enhancing value in alfalfa. These new biotech traits can be divided into two categories: o...

A glucan preparation obtained from the mycelial walls of the fungus Phytophthora megasperma f.sp. glycinea and known as an elicitor of phytoalexins in soybean was shown to be a very efficient inducer of resistance against viruses in tobacco. The glucan preparation protected against mechanically transmitted viral infections on the upper and lower leaf surfaces. Whether the glucan preparation was...

Fall dormancy (FD) is an adaptive trait in alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.). It appeared in the regrowth process in late summer or early autumn after alfalfa was harvested. FD affects the biomass accumulation and winter survival in high latitude area. However, the molecular mechanism under FD is still not clear at present. Performing RNA-seq of fall dormant and nondormant alfalfa varieties at diffe...

Although the genetic organization of tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) differs considerably from that of the tripartite viruses (alfalfa mosaic virus [AlMV] and brome mosaic virus [BMV]), all of these RNA plant viruses share three domains of homology among their nonstructural proteins. One such domain, common to the AlMV and BMV 2a proteins and the readthrough portion of TMV p183, is also homologous t...

A generic assay to detect and partially characterize unknown viruses from plants was developed. Proteins extracted from virus-infected and uninfected plants were separated in one dimension by SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Differentially expressed protein bands were eluted after trypsin digestion and resulting peptide fragments separated according to their mass by matrix-assisted laser...

It is assured that alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) was introduced in Han dynasty. There are cognitive differences on whether Zhang Qian introduced alfalfa.. Based on the previous studies, research inductive method was used. The relationship between Zhang Qian and alfalfa introduction was analyzed from the motivation, experience and influence of Zhang Qian to the Western Regions and the image gener...

Materials and Methods The Neely-Kinyon LTAR site was established in 1998 to study the long-term effects of organic production in Iowa. Treatments at the LTAR site, replicated four times in a completely randomized design, include the following rotations: conventional CornSoybean (C-S), organic Corn-SoybeanOats/Alfalfa (C-S-O/A), organic CornSoybean-Oats/Alfalfa-Alfalfa (C-S-O/A-A) and organic Co...

Aphanomyces euteiches causes root rot disease of alfalfa, and two races of the pathogen have been identified based on the reaction of established check cultivars. A majority of alfalfa cultivars grown in regions where A. euteiches is prevalent have resistance to race 1 of the pathogen, but very few cultivars have resistance to race 2. The genetic basis of resistance in alfalfa to A. euteiches i...

Alfalfa use by dairy cattle has decreased in recent years because of excessive nonprotein nitrogen and low fiber digestibility. Ideal attributes for plant modification of alfalfa may include those that increase milk potential per acre and/or per ton, enhance digestible NDF, improve protein content and amino acid balance, improve agronomic traits for insect protection (safer forage supply), herb...