Overexpression of AtSOAR1 in alfalfa plant improved biomass yield and sensitive to ABA-induced stomatal closure
To explore the effects of MsSOAR1 overexpression in alfalfa, we introduced a homology gene of MsSOAR1 , AtSOAR1 , into alfalfa (Figure S2A, B). Transgenic (TG) plants with differentAtSOAR1 expression levels were generated (Figure S2C, 6A, 6B). Four-month-old TG plants showed a significant increase in plant height and primary branch number (Figure 6C, 6D), and above-ground biomass (Figure 6E) than that of WT plants. We found that the TG plants had similar ABA content as WT plants under normal growth conditions (Figure S2D), whereas the TG plants had smaller stomatal aperture than WT after 25μM ABA treatment for 40min (Figure 6F, 6G). The relative stomatal conduction of TGs was significantly lower than that of WT in the presence of 25μM ABA (Figure 6H). The results indicated overexpression of AtSOAR1 positively regulated ABA-mediated alfalfa plant stomatal closure.