Genetic Nomenclature in Clovers and Special‐Purpose Legumes: II. Crimson and Subterranean Clover

Abstract

Crimson clover, Trifolium incarnatum L., and subterranean clover, T. subterraneum L., are important annual legumes used for winter grazing in the U.S. Southeast. There is no single report of the inheritance of qualitative characters in these two species. The objective of this paper was to compile the reported gene names and symbols for crimson and subterranean clover characters and to propose symbols for characters of each species in accordance with the Trifolium genetic nomenclature system. A new system for naming alleles of the leaf mark locus M in subterranean clover is also proposed. The inheritance and gene symbols are given for 16 characters in crimson clover and 34 characters in subterranean clover. These characters consist mostly of flower color and leaf variants in crimson clover and anthocyanin pigmentation, isoflavone, leaf marking, and seed color variants in subterranean clover. The inheritance is reported for three characters in crimson clover and four characters in subterranean clover that have not been assigned gene symbols.