Assessment of nutritional characteristics of virus-resistant transgenic white clover (Trifolium repens L.) grown under field and glasshouse conditions

Abstract

White clover (Trifolium repens L.) is an important pasture legume in temperate areas throughout the world, providing fodder for grazing animals and improving soil fertility via symbiotic nitrogen fixation. However, the persistence and stress tolerance of white clover are affected by a number of viruses including alfalfa mosaic virus. Transgenic white clover plants with ectopic expression of the alfalfa mosaic virus coat protein were resistant to the virus under field and greenhouse conditions. With all genetic modifications of major consequence, there is the possibility of unintended effects on forage quality and natural toxicant levels. In this paper, we describe the evaluation of a range o..