Alfalfa benefits from Medicago truncatula: the RCT1 gene from M. truncatula confers broad-spectrum resistance to anthracnose in alfalfa.

ABSTRACT: Alfalfa is economically the most important forage legume worldwide. A recurrent challenge to alfalfa production is the significant yield loss caused by disease. Although knowledge of molecular mechanisms underlying host resistance should facilitate the genetic improvement of alfalfa, the acquisition of such knowledge is hampered by alfalfa's tetrasomic inheritance and outcrossing nature. However, alfalfa is congeneric with the reference legume Medicago truncatula, providing an opportunity to use M. truncatula as a surrogate to clone the counterparts of many agronomically important genes in alfalfa. In particular, the high degree of sequence identity and remarkably conserved genome structure and function between the two species enables M. truncatula genes to be used directly in alfalfa impr

SUBMITTER: Yang S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2527883 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature