Abstract
Legume rotation has allowed a consistent increase in crop yield and consequently in human population since the antiquity. Legumes will also be instrumental in our ability to maintain the sustainability of our agriculture while facing the challenges of increasing food and biofuel demand. Medicago truncatula and Lotus japonicus have emerged during the last decade as two major model systems for legume biology. Initially developed to dissect plant-microbe symbiotic interactions and especially legume nodulation, these two models are now widely used in a variety of biological fields from plant physiology and development to population genetics and structural genomics. This review highlights the genetic and genomic tools available to the M. truncatula community. Comparative genomic approaches to transfer biological information between model systems and legume crops are also discussed.
Highlights
Legumes are usually defined by their typical flower structure and the ability of many of them to form root nodules in presence of symbiotic bacteria named rhizobia
While M. truncatula is an annual medic from the Trifolieae tribe and a close relative of alfalfa and clovers, L. japonicus belongs to the Loteae and is more distant from cultivated cool season legumes than M. truncatula
The goal of this review is to provide an overview of the natural characteristics and genetic and genomic tools that make M. truncatula such a desirable experimental system for a growing number of plant biologists
Summary
Legumes are usually defined by their typical flower structure and the ability of many of them to form root nodules in presence of symbiotic bacteria named rhizobia. While M. truncatula is an annual medic from the Trifolieae tribe and a close relative of alfalfa and clovers, L. japonicus belongs to the Loteae and is more distant from cultivated cool season legumes than M. truncatula This phylogenetic distance to economically important crops is critical in the choice of M. truncatula by many researchers and support by numerous funding agencies. The use of both model legumes allows unique comparative genomic studies within the legume family as well as the comparison between two patterns of root nodule development: indeterminate with a persistent nodule meristem in the case of M. truncatula and determinate in L. japonicus. We will highlight how information gained from M. truncatula can be transferred to other legumes crops through comparative genomics and we will share our vision of how M. truncatula can allow us to reach the goal of sustainable well-being through sustainable food and biofuel production
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