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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Development and EvoDevo
Volume 16 - 2025 |
doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1460205
Transcriptomic and physiological analyses reveal that cytokinin is involved in the compound leaf development of alfalfa
Provisionally accepted
Hongyao Mei
1
Jiajun Yan
2*
Weilin Wang
1
Shuangshuang Li
1
Ruiqi Sun
1
Hongjiao Jiang
1*
Lijun Xie
1
Chuanen Zhou
1
Shiqie Bai
2*
Lu Han
1*- 1 The Key Laboratory of Plant Development and Environmental Adaptation Biology, School of Life Science, Shandong University, Qingdao, Shandong Province, China
- 2 School of Life Science and Engineering, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, Sichuan Province, China
Alfalfa is one of the primary forages, and its yield is largely dependent on the development of its leaf. In this study, to elucidate the mechanism of compound leaf development, we isolated and examined the alfalfa phenotype Chuancao No.7, exhibiting five leaflets. The agronomic traits of the Chuancao No.7 including the leaf blade area, leaf/stem ratio, total fresh weight, and dry weight showed significant increases compared to those of the wild-type. Analyses of forage quality traits indicated significant differences in crude protein (CP), acid detergent fiber (ADF), crude fat (CF), water-soluble sugars (WSS), carbon content, ash composition content, and phosphorus content between Chuancao No.7 alfalfa and wild-type. Transcriptomic profile analysis revealed that differentially expressed genes were identified in the cytokinin (CK) signaling pathway. Both exogenous treatment and endogenous CK content detection indicated that cytokinin played a key role in the development of the alfalfa compound leaf. These results serve as a valuable resource for optimizing the forage quality and exploring the excellent germplasm of alfalfa.
Keywords: alfalfa, Compound leaf development, Cytokinin, forage quality, KNOX1
Received: 05 Jul 2024; Accepted: 03 Jan 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Mei, Yan, Wang, Li, Sun, Jiang, Xie, Zhou, Bai and Han. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Jiajun Yan, School of Life Science and Engineering, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, Sichuan Province, China
Hongjiao Jiang, The Key Laboratory of Plant Development and Environmental Adaptation Biology, School of Life Science, Shandong University, Qingdao, Shandong Province, China
Shiqie Bai, School of Life Science and Engineering, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, Sichuan Province, China
Lu Han, The Key Laboratory of Plant Development and Environmental Adaptation Biology, School of Life Science, Shandong University, Qingdao, Shandong Province, China
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