Medicago is a major model organism for plant biology
Legumes are unique in their ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen (due to the formation of root nodules in which
they house symbiotic bacteria, Rhizobia). In contrast to Arabidopsis, Medicago also has the capacity to establish
the formation of endomycorrhizae (root endosymbiosis, important in plant mineral nutrition). The importance of
legumes to global agriculture and the need to understand these important biological functions not found in
existing plant models make M.
truncatula exceptionally interesting for sequencing.
