Abstract
Medicago polymorpha is a nutritious and palatable forage and vegetable plant that also fixes nitrogen. Here, we reveal the chromosome-scale genome sequence of M. polymorpha using an integrated approach including Illumina, PacBio and Hi-C technologies. We combined PacBio full-length RNA-seq, metabolomic analysis, structural anatomy analysis and related physiological indexes to elucidate the important agronomic traits of M. polymorpha for forage and vegetable usage. The assembled M. polymorpha genome consisted of 457.53 Mb with a long scaffold N50 of 57.72 Mb, and 92.92% (441.83 Mb) of the assembly was assigned to seven pseudochromosomes. Comparative genomic analysis revealed that expansion and contraction of the photosynthesis and lignin biosynthetic gene families, respectively, led to enhancement of nutritious compounds and reduced lignin biosynthesis in M. polymorpha. In addition, we found that several positively selected nitrogen metabolism-related genes were responsible for crude protein biosynthesis. Notably, the metabolomic results revealed that a large number of flavonoids, vitamins, alkaloids, and terpenoids were enriched in M. polymorpha. These results imply that the decreased lignin content but relatively high nutrient content of M. polymorpha enhance its edibility and nutritional value as a forage and vegetable. Our genomic data provide a genetic basis that will accelerate functional genomic and breeding research on M. polymorpha as well as other Medicago and legume plants.
Highlights
Legumes (Fabaceae or Leguminosae), the second most important group of crop plants, contribute an important portion of the plant protein and oil content in human and animal diets
The results showed strong genomic syntenic relationships among M. polymorpha, M. truncatula and M. sativa (Fig. 2d)
We found that 65 lignin-biosynthesis-related genes are present in the M. polymorpha genome, while 142 are present in G. max, 77 in M. truncatula and 77 in M. sativa
Summary
Legumes (Fabaceae or Leguminosae), the second most important group of crop plants, contribute an important portion of the plant protein and oil content in human and animal diets. Numerous efforts have been made to improve legume production and quality through various approaches, including breeding, agronomic practices, and genetics. Because genomic information is essential to crop improvement programs, multiple assembled genomes for legumes have been made available, including those for. The genome of alfalfa (M. sativa), known as the king of forage, has been sequenced[6,7]. These genomes provide valuable resources for studying legume genomics as well as for crop breeding and improvement. The nutritive value of forage can be assessed based on several key parameters, including protein content, total fiber concentration, leaf-to-stem ratio, and digestibility[11].
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