PEG treatment
Seven-day old alfalfa S1-50 and S0-50 seedlings were placed on filter paper soaked with 15% PEG6000 for four days. The root length of seedlings before and after treatment was measured using vernier calipers. Seeds harvested from one S0-50 plant were used as a biological repeat. One biological repeat contains fifteen seedlings, three biological repeats were given. Four-month-old plants were soaked in 15% PEG6000 to simulate a drought treatment. Leaves at 0h, 1h, 3h, 6h, and 12h were sampled after PEG6000 treatment for RNA extraction to detect the gene expression pattern after drought stress. Three biological repeats were given.