ABSTRACT
Obtaining plants producing recombinant proteins, which opens up the way to many technological applications that include industrial and pharmaceutical use for human and animal nutrition, is now a reality. The fundamental technology to obtain plants accumulating heterologous proteins is genetic transformation. As a fodder crop, alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is the most important protein source of all legumes. Alfalfa is also important for its high biomass production and versatility. It is mainly used as a hay and silage crop, but it can also be grazed. Moreover, when it is dried, ground, and pelleted, it is sold as a dehydrated feed for many animals. For all these reasons, alfalfa is the main forage crop in temperate agriculture, and the third largest crop in the United States where its direct economic value is about $7.1 billion each year. Alfalfa is considered the queen of forage crops in most of the European countries, too, and it is particularly appreciated in the Mediterranean basin.
