Advances in genetic transformation of alfalfa

：As a pioneer biotechnology, gene engineering has already contributed greatly to the commercialization of plant transgenic products since its application. Alfalfa, regarded as one of most valuable leguminous forages in the world, has been genetically modified to improve the agronomically traits like biomass, quality and resistance, by this technology. This paper summarized the latest progresses in genetic transformation researches of alfalfa with five aspects, including abiotic, biotic stress, herbicide resistance, quality improvement and bioreactor utilization. Some suggestions for specific alfalfa biosafety issues and potential hotspot aiming at the existing bottleneck of alfalfa transgenic study were proposed. Generally, this paper was expected to provide researchers with helpful information both fundamental and applied researches of alfalfa.