Three Sequenced Legume Genomes and Many Crop Species: Rich Opportunities for Translational Genomics

This year marks the essential completion of the genome sequences of soybean (Glycine max), barrel medic (Medicago truncatula), and birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus japonicus). The impact of these assembled, annotated genomes will be enormous. Birdsfoot trefoil and barrel medic, both forage crops, are the preeminent laboratory plants used in legume research. Monetarily, soybean is the most valuable protein and edible oil crop in the world, and serves as a model for seed and other developmental processes. These genome sequences contain the vast majorities of gene and regulatory sequences for these plants, as well as information about evolutionary histories over the approximately 54 million years (Mya) since their common ancestor. These genome sequences are made more useful by virtue of the ability to compare between the genomes, and to transfer information from these biological models to other crop species and vice versa. This review will describe the basic characteristics of the sequenced legume genomes, and will highlight examples, opportunities, and challenges for translational genomics across the legumes.