Genomic Resources

Medicago (Medick, Burclover)

Medicago is a genus of flowering plants, commonly known as medick or burclover, in the legume family (Fabaceae). It contains at least 87 species and is distributed mainly around the Mediterranean basin. The best-known member of the genus is alfalfa (M. sativa), an important forage crop, and the genus name is based on the Latin name for that plant, medica, from Greek: μηδική (πόα) Median (grass). Most members of the genus are low, creeping herbs, resembling clover, but with burs (hence the common name). However, alfalfa grows to a height of 1 meter, and tree medick (M. arborea) is a shrub. Members of the genus are known to produce bioactive compounds such as medicarpin (a flavonoid) and medicagenic acid (a triterpenoid saponin). Chromosome numbers in Medicago range from 2n = 14 to 48. The species Medicago truncatula is a model legume due to its relatively small stature, small genome (450–500 Mbp), short generation time (about 3 months), and ability to reproduce both by outcrossing and selfing.

NCBI taxonomy ID: 3877

Tools and resources for the genus as a whole

Medicago Analysis Portal
LIS genus-centric portal for Medicago resources
MedicagoMine
InterMine interface for accessing genetic and genomic data for several species in Medicago.
Genome Context Viewer
Browser for dynamically discovering and viewing genomic synteny across selected species.
Germplasm GIS
Geographic information system viewer, showing collection locations for Medicago data held by the U.S. National Plant Germplasm System.

Tools and resources for particular species

Medicago sativa: alfalfa

Alfalfa, also called lucerne and called Medicago sativa in binomial nomenclature, is a perennial flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world. It is used for grazing, hay, and silage, as well as a green manure and cover crop. The name alfalfa is used in North America. The name lucerne is the more commonly used name in the United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.

NCBI taxonomy ID: 3879

Medicago sativa accessions

CADL_HM342 (Noble Foundation)
CADL (HM342) was developed from cultivated tetraploids over 10 years to produce a diploid form. XinJiangDaYe (China)
Xinjiang Daye is a salt-sensitive cultivar of alfalfa. Zhongmu_No_1 (China)
Zhongmu No. 1 is a widely grown cultivar in Northern China PI464715 (Turkey)
PI464715 is a representative of Medicago sativa spp. caerulea, the diploid progenitor of the cultivated autotetraploid RegenSY27x (Samac Lab, USDA)
This plant was selected for high regeneration in tissue culture. It was bred by crossing two plants, first generation selfed (S1) parents from Regen-S (Medicago sativa) and Regen-Y (Medicago falcata) (Bingham, ET. 1991. Registration of alfalfa hybrid Regen-SY germplasm for tissue culture and transformation research. Crop Science 31:1098.) It has purple flowers but clusters more closely with M. falcata than with M. sativa.

Medicago truncatula: barrel medic

Medicago truncatula, a close relative of alfalfa (M. sativa), is widely used as a model in legume biology. It is physically small in stature, with a small genome, and has a short generation-to-generation time. Sevweral high-quality genome assemblies have been generated, including Tang et al., 2014 (DOI:10.1186/1471-2164-15-312) and Pecrix et al., 2018 (DOI:10.1038/s41477-018-0286-7).

NCBI taxonomy ID: 3880

Medicago truncatula resources

LIS SequenceServer
SequenceServer BLAST against the Medicago truncatula assembly v4.0

Medicago truncatula accessions

A17 (Mediterranean region)
Medicago truncatula accession A17 has been used for a large number of genetic and genomic studies. The genome for this accession has been used as the basis for several high-quality genome assemblies: including Tang et al., 2014 (DOI:10.1186/1471-2164-15-312) and Pecrix et al., 2018 (DOI:10.1038/s41477-018-0286-7). A17_HM341 (Mediterranean region)
Medicago truncatula accession A17 has been used for a large number of genetic and genomic studies. The genome for this accession has been used as the basis for several high-quality genome assemblies: including Tang et al., 2014 (DOI:10.1186/1471-2164-15-312) and Pecrix et al., 2018 (DOI:10.1038/s41477-018-0286-7). R108_HM340 (Mediterranean region)
Medicago truncatula accession R108 has been used in various genetic and genomic studies, e.g. Gaige et al., 2011 (DOI:10.1080/07060661.2012.662176), Li et al., 2014 (DOI:10.1016/j.jplph.2013.12.018), and Cosson et al., 2006 (DOI:10.1385/1-59745-130-4:115). A genome assembly is available: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/assembly/GCA_002024945.1/. HM078 (Greece)
HM078 is was originally collected by researchers at INRA-Montpellier (doi:10.1186/1471-2229-6-28), and later characterized as one of a handful of accessions showing resistance to spring black stem and leaf spot disease (doi.org/10.1094/PHYTO-96-1330).

Medicago ruthenica

A wild perennial forage species widely distributed in semi-arid grasslands and adapted tolerate environmental stresses including drought, low temperatures, and infertile soils

NCBI taxonomy ID: 70973

Medicago ruthenica resources

Medicago SequenceServer
SequenceServer BLAST against the Medicago ruthenica Xinghe v1.0 genome assembly

Medicago ruthenica accessions

Xinghe (Northern China)
Occurs naturally in arid and semi-arid areas of northern China

Medicago polymorpha

Highly nutritious forage legume with global distribution, widely consumed by livestock and also used as a vegetable in China.

NCBI taxonomy ID: 47084

Medicago polymorpha resources

Medicago SequenceServer
SequenceServer BLAST against Medicago polymorpha sequence resources

Medicago polymorpha accessions

Huaiyang_Jinhuacai (China)
Main nationally authorized cultivar in China