Medicago tribuloides Desr. Medicago tribuloides var. breviaculeata Moris Medicago truncatula var. breviaculeata (Moris) Urb. Medicago truncatula var. longiaculeata Urb. Medicago truncatula var. tribuloides (Desr.) Burnat Medicago truncatula f. tricycla Nègre Medicago truncatula var. tricycla (Nègre) Heyn
Medicago truncatula, the barrelclover,[2]strong-spined medick,[3]barrel medic, or barrel medick, is a small annual legume native to the Mediterranean region that is used in genomic research. It is a low-growing, clover-like plant 10–60 centimetres (3.9–23.6 in) tall with trifoliate leaves. Each leaflet is rounded, 1–2 centimetres (0.39–0.79 in) long, often with a dark spot in the center. The flowers are yellow, produced singly or in a small inflorescence of two to five together; the fruit is a small, spiny pod.
This species is studied as a model organism for legume biology because it has a small diploidgenome, is self-fertile, has a rapid generation time and prolific seed production, is amenable to genetic transformation, and its genome has been sequenced.[4]
The assembly of the genome sequence in M. truncatula was based on bacterial artificial chromosomes (BACs). This is the same approach used to sequence the genomes of humans, the fruitfly, Drosophila melanogaster, and the model plant, Arabidopsis thaliana. In July 2013, version 4.0 of the genome was released.[6] This version combined sequences gained from shotgun sequencing with the BAC-based sequence assemblies, which has helped to fill in the gaps in the previously mapped sequences.
A parallel group known as the International Medicago Gene Annotation Group (IMGAG) is responsible for identifying and describing putative gene sequences within the genome sequence.
Researcher Toby Kiers of VU University Amsterdam and associates used M. truncatula to study symbioses between plants and fungi – and to see whether the partners in the relationship could distinguish between good and bad traders/suppliers. By using labeled carbon to track the source of nutrient flowing through the arbuscular mycorrhizal system, the researchers have proven that the plants had indeed given more carbon to the more generous fungus species. By restricting the amount of carbon the plants gave to the fungus, the researchers also demonstrated that the fungi did pass along more of their phosphorus to the more generous plants.[7]
^USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Medicago truncatula". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
Courty, Pierre Emmanuel; Smith, Penelope; Koegel, Sally; Redecker, Dirk; Wipf, Daniel (1 June 2015). "Inorganic Nitrogen Uptake and Transport in Beneficial Plant Root-Microbe Interactions". Critical Reviews in Plant Sciences. 34 (1–3): 4–16. doi:10.1080/07352689.2014.897897. S2CID85772198.
Medicago truncatula eFP Browser Viewer for gene expression data from the Medicago Gene Expression Atlas project, at the Provart Lab's Bio-Array Resource website