Recently, the Forage breeding and cultivation research team of Institute of Animal Science (IAS-CAAS) and the team of crop omics big data and application innovation in the Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen (AGIS-CAAS) and another five international groups worked together to reveal the genetic mechanisms of climatic adaptation and identified key climate-adaptation genes for molecular design breeding in alfalfa. The findings are published in the journal of Molecular Plant.

Alfalfa, known as the "Queen of Forages", is one of the most important leguminous forage crops, known for its strong adaptability and high protein content. It is one of the best quality forages for livestock, such as dairy cattle, with a global cultivation area exceeding 45 million hectares. However, global climate change has led to frequent extreme weather events, posing a severe threat to global food security. Therefore, developing new resilient and high-yield plant varieties with strong adaptability to climate change is a crucial strategy to ensure food security.

The study discovered that gene exchange within and between species of the Medicago genus introduces genes that aid in adapting to current and future climates. A total of 1,671 candidate genes related to environmental adaptability were identified. Using a machine learning model, the adaptability of alfalfa populations from various regions to climate change was predicted. This work identified key climate-adaptation genes across various Medicago species, laying the foundation for molecular design breeding in alfalfa. It holds significant implications for developing new alfalfa varieties with enhanced climate adaptability in the context of global climate change.