Medicago
| Medicago | |
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| File:Medicago sp.jpg | |
| Anatomical diagram of Medicago flowers | |
Scientific classification 
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| Missing taxonomy template (fix): | Medicago |
| Type species | |
| Medicago sativa | |
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87–105; see text. | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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List
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Medicago is a genus of flowering plants, commonly known as medick or burclover, in the legume family (Fabaceae). It contains at least 87 species. The genus name is based on the Latin name for that plant, medica, from Template:Langx Median (grass).
The genus is distributed mainly around the Mediterranean Basin, also extending across temperate Eurasia and sub-Saharan Africa. Its best-known member is alfalfa (M. sativa), an important forage crop.
Description
[edit | edit source]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 metre (3+1⁄2 ft), 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).[2] Chromosome numbers in Medicago range from 2n = 14 to 48.[3]
Taxonomy
[edit | edit source]The species Medicago truncatula is a model legume[4] 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.
Comprehensive descriptions of the genus are Lesinš and Lesinš 1979[5] and Small and Jomphe 1989.[6] Major collections are SARDI (Australia),[7] USDA-GRIN (United States),[8] ICARDA (Syria),[9] and INRA (France).[10]
Species
[edit | edit source]The genus contains at least 87 species.[6][11][12]
Recent molecular phylogenic analyses of Medicago indicate that the sections and subsections defined by Small & Jomphe, as outlined below, are generally polyphyletic.[13][14][15][16] However, with minor revisions sections and subsections could be rendered monophyletic.[15][16]
Section Buceras
[edit | edit source]Subsection Deflexae
[edit | edit source]- Medicago retrorsa (Boiss.) E. Small
Subsection Erectae
[edit | edit source]- Medicago arenicola (Huber-Mor.) E. Small
- Medicago astroites (Fisch. & Mey.) Trautv.
- Medicago carica (Huber-Mor.) E. Small
- Medicago crassipes (Boiss.) E. Small
- Medicago fischeriana (Ser.) Trautv.
- Medicago halophila (Boiss.) E. Small
- Medicago heldreichii (Boiss.) E. Small
- Medicago medicaginoides (Retz.) E. Small
- Medicago monantha (C. A. Meyer) Trautv.
- Medicago orthoceras (Kar. & Kir.) Trautv.
- Medicago pamphylica (Huber-Mor. & Sirjaev) E. Small
- Medicago persica (Boiss.) E. Small
- Medicago phrygia (Boiss. & Bal.) E. Small
- Medicago polyceratia (L.) Trautv.
- Medicago rigida (Boiss. & Bal.) E. Small
Subsection Isthmocarpae
[edit | edit source]- Medicago rhytidiocarpa (Boiss. & Bal.) E. Small
- Medicago isthmocarpa (Boiss. & Bal.) E. Small
Subsection Reflexae
[edit | edit source]- Medicago monspeliaca (L.) Trautv.
Section Carstiensae
[edit | edit source]- Medicago carstiensis Wulf.
Section Dendrotelis
[edit | edit source]- Medicago arborea L.
- Medicago citrina (Font Quer) Greuter[Note 1]
- Medicago strasseri Greuter, Matthas & Risse
Section Geocarpa
[edit | edit source]- Medicago hypogaea E. Small
Section Heynianae
[edit | edit source]- Medicago heyniana Greuter
Section Hymenocarpos
[edit | edit source]Section Lunatae
[edit | edit source]- Medicago biflora (Griseb.) E. Small
- Medicago brachycarpa M. Bieb.
- Medicago huberi E. Small
- Medicago rostrata (Boiss. & Bal.) E. Small
Section Lupularia
[edit | edit source]- Medicago lupulina L.
- Medicago secundiflora Durieu
Section Medicago
[edit | edit source]- Medicago cancellata M. Bieb.
- Medicago daghestanica Rupr.
- Medicago hybrida (Pourr.) Trautv.
- Medicago marina L.
- Medicago papillosa Boiss.
- M. p. macrocarpa
- M. p. papillosa
- Medicago pironae Vis.
- Medicago prostrata Jacq.
- M. p. prostrata
- M. p. pseudorupestris
- Medicago rhodopea Velen.
- Medicago rupestris M. Bieb
- Medicago sativa L. (alfalfa)
- M. s. caerulea
- M. s. falcata (Medicago falcata)
- M. s. f. var. falcata
- M. s. f. var. viscosa
- M. s. glomerata
- M. s. sativa
- Medicago saxatilis M. Bieb
- Medicago suffruticosa Ramond ex DC.
- M. s. leiocarpa
- M. s. suffruticosa
Section Orbiculares
[edit | edit source]- Medicago orbicularis (L.) Bart.
Section Platycarpae
[edit | edit source]- Medicago archiducis-nicolai Sirjaev
- Medicago cretacea M. Bieb.
- Medicago edgeworthii Sirjaev
- Medicago ovalis (Boiss.) Sirjaev
- Medicago playtcarpa (L.) Trautv.
- Medicago plicata (Boiss.) Sirjaev
- Medicago popovii (E. Kor.) Sirjaev
- Medicago ruthenica (L.) Ledebour
Subsection Rotatae
[edit | edit source]- Medicago blancheana Boiss.
- Medicago noeana Boiss.
- Medicago rotata Boiss.
- Medicago rugosa Desr.
- Medicago scutellata (L.) Miller
- Medicago shepardii Post
Section Spirocarpos
[edit | edit source]Subsection Intertextae
[edit | edit source]- Medicago ciliaris (L.) Krocker
- Medicago granadensis Willd.
- Medicago intertexta (L.) Miller
- Medicago muricoleptis Tin.
Subsection Leptospireae
[edit | edit source]- Medicago arabica (L.) Huds.
- Medicago coronata (L.) Bart.
- Medicago disciformis DC.
- Medicago laciniata (L.) Miller
- Medicago lanigera Winkl. & Fedtsch.
- Medicago laxispira Heyn
- Medicago minima (L.) Bart.
- Medicago polymorpha L.
- Medicago praecox DC.
- Medicago sauvagei Nègre
- Medicago tenoreana Ser.
Subsection Pachyspireae
[edit | edit source]- Medicago constricta Durieu
- Medicago doliata Carmign.
- Medicago italica (Miller) Fiori
- Medicago lesinsii E. Small
- Medicago littoralis Rohde ex Lois.
- Medicago murex Willd.
- Medicago rigidula (L.) All.
- Medicago rigiduloides E. Small
- Medicago sinskiae Uljanova[Note 2]
- Medicago soleirolii Duby
- Medicago sphaerocarpos Bertol.[17]
- Medicago syriaca E. Small
- Medicago truncatula Gaertn.
- Medicago turbinata (L.) All.
Species names with uncertain taxonomic status
[edit | edit source]The status of the following species is unresolved:[6]
- Medicago agropyretorum Vassilcz.
- Medicago alatavica Vassilcz.
- Medicago caucasica Vassilcz.
- Medicago cyrenaea Maire & Weiller
- Medicago difalcata Sinskaya
- Medicago grossheimii Vassilcz.
- Medicago gunibica Vassilcz.
- Medicago hemicoerulea Sinskaya
- Medicago karatschaica (A. Heller) A. Heller
- Medicago komarovii Vassilcz.
- Medicago meyeri Gruner
- Medicago polychroa Grossh.
- Medicago schischkinii Sumnev.
- Medicago talyschensis Latsch.
- Medicago transoxana Vassilcz.
- Medicago tunetana (Murb.) A.W. Hill
- Medicago vardanis Vassilcz.
- Medicago virescens Grossh.
Evolution
[edit | edit source]Medicago diverged from Glycine (soybean) about 53–55 million years ago (in the early Eocene),[18] from Lotus (deervetch) 49–51 million years ago (also in the Eocene),[18] and from Trigonella 10–22 million years ago (in the Miocene).[15]
Etymology
[edit | edit source]The genus name is based on the Latin name for alfalfa, medica, from Template:Langx Median (grass).[19]
Distribution and habitat
[edit | edit source]The genus is distributed mainly around the Mediterranean Basin,[13][2] also extending across temperate Eurasia and sub-Saharan Africa.[1]
Ecology
[edit | edit source]Symbiosis with nitrogen-fixing rhizobia
[edit | edit source]Béna et al. (2005) constructed a molecular phylogeny of 23 Sinorhizobium strains and tested the symbiotic ability of six strains with 35 Medicago species.[14] Comparison of these phylogenies indicates many transitions in the compatibility of the association over evolutionary time. Furthermore, they propose that the geographical distribution of strains limits the distribution of particular Medicago species.
Insect herbivores
[edit | edit source]Medicago species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including the common swift, flame, latticed heath, lime-speck pug, nutmeg, setaceous Hebrew character, and turnip moths and case-bearers of the genus Coleophora, including C. frischella (recorded on M. sativa) and C. fuscociliella (feeds exclusively on Medicago spp.).[citation needed]
Agricultural uses
[edit | edit source]Agronomic research has been conducted on Medicago species. Other than its best-known member, alfalfa,[20] several of the prostrate members of the family (such as M. lupulina and M. truncatula) have been used as forage crops.[21] Select species in the Medicago genus naturally develop spiney pods during the reproductive phase of growth (such as M. intertexta and M. polymorpha). Despite having high levels of agronomic performance, these are typically viewed as undesirable in sheep based farming systems due to their ability to become lodged in wool, reducing fleece value.[22] Breeding efforts in the 1990s have yielded spineless varieties of burr medic, providing valuable production amongst farming systems in low rainfall (<300mm annual), free draining, alkaline soils.[23]
Notes
[edit | edit source]References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Medicago L. Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Gholami A, De Geyter N, Pollier J, Goormachtig S, Goossens A (2014). "Natural product biosynthesis in Medicago species". Natural Product Reports. 31 (3): 356–380. doi:10.1039/C3NP70104B. PMID 24481477.
- ↑ Rosato M, Galián JA, Rosselló JA (2012). "Amplification, contraction and genomic spread of a satellite DNA family (E180) in Medicago (Fabaceae) and allied genera". Ann Bot. 109 (4): 773–82. doi:10.1093/aob/mcr309. PMC 3286279. PMID 22186276.
- ↑ "Medicago truncatula". Archived from the original on 29 December 2008. Retrieved 21 November 2008.
- ↑ Lesinš KA, Lesinš I (1979). Genus Medicago (Leguminosae): A Taxogenetic Study. The Hague, The Netherlands: Dr. W. Junk B. V. Publishers. p. 132. ISBN 978-90-6193-598-8.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Small E, Jomphe M (1989). "A Synopsis of the Genus Medicago (Leguminosae)". Can J Bot. 67 (11): 3260–94. Bibcode:1989CaJB...67.3260S. doi:10.1139/b89-405.
- ↑ "SARDI". Archived from the original on 26 October 2008. Retrieved 21 November 2008.
- ↑ "GRIN National Genetic Resources Program". Archived from the original on 14 August 2009. Retrieved 21 November 2008.
- ↑ "ICARDA Sustainable Agriculture for the Dry Areas". Archived from the original on 11 December 2008. Retrieved 21 November 2008.
- ↑ "INRA". Archived from the original on 31 July 2010. Retrieved 21 November 2008.
- ↑ Multiple sources:
- "ILDIS LegumeWeb". Archived from the original on 1999-10-07. Retrieved 2008-11-18.
- "Genera Containing Currently Accepted Names: Medicago". Archived from the original on September 30, 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-18.
- "Species Nomenclature in GRIN". Archived from the original on 1999-05-01. Retrieved 2008-11-18.
- "IPNI Plant Name Query Results". Retrieved 2008-11-22.
- "AgroAtlas - Relatives". Archived from the original on 2008-12-25. Retrieved 2008-11-22.
- "Medicago". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2009-09-16.
- "Discover Life". Archived from the original on 2011-06-12. Retrieved 2010-05-11.
- "eFlora Search Page". www.efloras.org.
- ↑ "The Biota of North America Program".[permanent dead link]
- "The Plant List". Archived from the original on 2019-03-26. Retrieved 2011-06-27.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Steele KP, Ickert-Bond SM, Zarre S, Wojciechowski MF (2010). "Phylogeny and character evolution in Medicago (Leguminosae): Evidence from analyses of plastid trnK/matK and nuclear GA3ox1 sequences". Am J Bot. 97 (7): 1142–1155. Bibcode:2010AmJB...97.1142S. doi:10.3732/ajb.1000009. PMID 21616866.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Béna G, Lyet A, Huguet T, Olivier I (2005). "Medicago–Sinorhizobium symbiotic specificity evolution and the geographic expansion of Medicago". J. Evol. Biol. 18 (6): 1547–58. doi:10.1111/j.1420-9101.2005.00952.x. PMID 16313467. S2CID 24813001.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Maureira Butler IJ, Pfeil BE, Muangprom A, Osborn TC, Doyle JJ (2008). "The reticulate history of Medicago (Fabaceae)". Syst Biol. 57 (6): 466–482. doi:10.1080/10635150802172168. PMID 18570039.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Multiple sources:
- Béna G, Lejeune B, Prosperi JM, Olivieri I (1998). "Molecular phylogenetic approach for studying life-history evolution: the ambiguous example of the genus Medicago L." Proc Biol Sci. 265 (1401): 1141–1151. doi:10.1098/rspb.1998.0410. PMC 1689169. PMID 9684377.
- Downie SR, Katz-Downie DS, Rogers EJ, Zujewski HL, Small E (1998). "Multiple independent losses of the plastid rpoC1 intron in Medicago (Fabaceae) as inferred from phylogenetic analyses of nuclear ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer sequences". Can J Bot. 76 (5): 791–803. Bibcode:1998CaJB...76..791D. doi:10.1139/b98-047.
- Béna G, Prosperi JM, Lejeune B, Olivieri I (1998). "Evolution of annual species of the genus Medicago: a molecular phylogenetic approach". Mol Phylogenet Evol. 9 (3): 552–559. Bibcode:1998MolPE...9..552B. doi:10.1006/mpev.1998.0493. PMID 9668004.
- Béna G. (2001). "Molecular phylogeny supports the morphologically based taxonomic transfer of the "medicagoid" Trigonella species to the genus Medicago L.". Plant Syst Evol. 229 (3–4): 217–236. Bibcode:2001PSyEv.229..217B. doi:10.1007/s006060170012. S2CID 42887106.
- Yoder JB, Briskine R, Mudge J, Farmer A, Paape T, Steele K, Weiblen GD, Bharti AK, Zhou P, May GD, Young ND, Tiffin P (2013). "Phylogenetic signal variation in the genomes of Medicago (Fabaceae)". Syst Biol. 62 (3): 424–38. doi:10.1093/sysbio/syt009. PMID 23417680.
- ↑ Gillespie DJ, McComb JA (1991). "Morphology and distribution of species in the Medicago murex complex". Can J Bot. 69 (12): 2655–2662. Bibcode:1991CaJB...69.2655G. doi:10.1139/b91-333.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Cannon S. (2008). "3. Legume Comparative Genomics" (PDF). In Stacey G (ed.). Genetics and Genomics of Soybean. Plant Genetics and Genomics: Crops and Models. II. New York, NY: Springer. p. 38. ISBN 978-0-387-72298-6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-08-14.
- ↑ New Oxford American Dictionary (2nd ed., 2005), p. 1054, s.v. medick.
- ↑ "Alfalfa Crop Germplasm Committee Report, 2000". Archived from the original on 2009-05-05. Retrieved 2009-11-04.
- ↑ "Black Medic (Medicago lupulina) | Mississippi State University Extension Service". extension.msstate.edu. Archived from the original on 2024-08-07. Retrieved 2024-08-07.
- ↑ Belinda Hackney; Dr Brian Dear; Graham Crocker. "Naturalised pasture legumes" (PDF). primefacts. NSW DPI.
- ↑ "Factsheet - Spineless burr medic". keys.lucidcentral.org.