Lucerne

A fundamental property of Fabaceae, greatly responsible for their agronomic value, is their ability to fix nitrogen through symbiosis with Rhizobium (aerobic soil bacteria). This characteristic explains the high protein content of these plants, and allows this protein synthesis without the need for chemical nitrogen fertilization.

In recent years, many laboratories use Medicago truncatula (M. truncatula) to study various aspects of plant-microorganism interactions. Its genome is highly syngenic with the most cultivated legume species in Europe, such as pea or cultivated lucerne (M. sativa). M. truncatula is a diploid species, whose genome (seven times smaller than that of the pea) allows rapid access to genomic sequences and the production of mutants for functional genetic analysis. The development of research on this model organism will provide important tools for the genetics and improvement of cultivated legumes, whether for basic research or in the field of private research.