Abstract:Seed endophytic rhizobia migration is a new form of sustainable symbiosis system to promote the growth of alfalfa plants.In order to explore the effect of storage methods on the transmissibility of seed endo-phytic rhizobia,seeds were harvested from Medicago sativa cv.Gannong No.5 plants which were inoculated with green fluorescent protein-labeled rhizobia gn5f (endogenous) and 12531f (exogenous).Before sowing,the seeds were stored for 3 years under the following conditions:25 ℃+natural humidity (S1),25 ℃+silica gel (S2),4 ℃+refrigerator humidity (S3) and -4 ℃+refrigerator freezing humidity (S4).The control was the seeds harvested from alfalfa plants irrigated with sterile water.The sustainability and effectiveness of endophytic rhizobia were evaluated at the seedling stage of the subsequent generation.Results showed that gn5f and 12531f can be passed from seeds to the next generation plants.Under S1 condition,the number of gn5fcolonized in the roots,stems and leaves of the next generation plants were significantly higher than that under other treatments (P<0.05).At the seedling stage of the next generation plants,compared with the control,the nodule number per plant,nodule weight per plant,nodule grade,nitrogenase activity,leaf number,plant height,root length,above ground fresh weight,above ground dry weight,root fresh weight,root dry weight were increased by 37%,1183.54%,47.52%,23909.07%,38.72%,40.63%,33.82%,68.11%,137.73%,223.70% and 600.00%,respectively.Under S2 condition,12531f had the highest colonization number in the roots of the next generation plants (560.63 cfu/g).The nodule number per plant,nodule diameter,nodule grade,nitrogenase activity,leaf number per plant,plant height,root length,above ground fresh weight,above ground dry weight,root fresh weight,root dry weight were higher than those of control and increased by 37.90%,21.33%,27.01%,288.21%,41.22%,39.40%,36.04%,72.37%,144.58%,284.05%,872.04%,respectively.Appropriate storage methods contributed to the improvement of sustainability and effectiveness of seed endophytic rhizobia,but it varied with the species and source of rhizobia.Storage of gn5f-colonized seeds under S1 condition and 12531f-colonized seeds under S2 condition demonstrated higher transmissibility to the subsequent generation and better promotion of plant growth by efficient nodulation and nitrogen fixation.The next generation plants of 12531f-colonized seeds stored under S2 condition presented higher nodulation and growth parameters than that of gn5f-colonized seeds stored under S1 condition.