To explore the role of MfWRKY3 in regulating the response of Medicago falcata to stresses， the MfWRKY3 gene was cloned from wild Medicago falcata in this study， and the characteristics of it encoded protein and the expression pattern were preliminarily identified. The results showed that the length of MfWRKY3 ORF （open reading frame） is 1575 bp， encoding a protein with 524 amino acids， predicted molecular mass of 57.36 kDa and an isoelectric point of 6.96. The MfWRKY3 had transcriptional activation activity and was localized in the nucleus， belonging to the WRKY Ⅰ sub-group transcription factor member. Meanwhile， it was found that the MfWRKY3 gene had the highest expression level in the leaves of Medicago falcate， and the its expression in the roots， stems and leaves were regulated by salt， low temperature and ABA treatment. However， the salt stress could significantly induce the expression of MfWRKY3 gene. These findings laid a foundation for further investigating the biological function and molecular mechanism of MfWRKY3 in regulating the response of Medicago falcata to abiotic stresses.

Medicago falcata  /  MfWRKY3  /  Gene cloning  /  Characterization analysis