Introduction of the neMDH gene in Urochloa brizantha for Aluminium Tolerance in Agronomic Assays

Agricultural production in acid soils constituting about half of the total arable land on Earth, is limited by aluminium toxicity, which is manifested by root growth reduction, decreasing nutrients and water absorption by the plant. This work evaluated aluminium resistance in genotypes of Brachiaria brizantha cv. MG4, transformed with the neMDH gene, by using a nutrient solution for agronomic evaluation and gene integration confirmation by PCR. Three from the five confirmed transformed genotypes of B. brizantha cv. MG4 with the neMDH gene presented tolerance to aluminium solutions(111 µmol L -1 and 444 µmol L -1). Two from those three genotypes also showed higher dry weight production in comparison to the wild-type genotype