Lotus japonicus (birdsfoot trefoil)
Overview
Lotus japonicus is a model legume used for studies of nitrogen fixing, mycorrhizal symbioses, and other aspects of legume biology. The euchromatic (gene-rich) portion of cultivar Miyakojima MG-20 has been sequenced at the Kazusa DNA Research Institute, and serves as a reference for many other legume species − particularly other species in the Robinieae tribe (containing the fodder plant Sesbania, and the black locust tree); and other "cool-season legumes" such as pea, faba, lentil, clovers, and medics.
Of Special Interest
See the LIS Lotus genome browser, and the browsers and genetic resources at the Kazusa Institute. Also see map views at Kazusa and at NCBI.
| NCBI taxon | 34305 | |
| GRIN taxon | 22722 | |
| Nodulation type | Determinate | |
| Flowering type | Short Day |
Nodulators
| Species | NCBI Taxon ID |
|---|---|
| Mesorhizobium loti | 381 |
Genome Summary
| Chromosomes | 2n = 12 | |
| Genome size | 471 (Mbp) | |
| Chloroplast genome size | 150.5 (kbp) | |
| Chloroplast NCBI accession number | NC_002694 |
Resources
| genetic map | Lj marker database at Kazusa | Linkout » |
| genetic map | Map view at NCBI | Linkout » |
| genome assembly | Genome build 2.5 at Kazusa, including annotation | Linkout » |
| genome browser | GBrowse at Kazusa based on genome build 2.5. Provides a gene-scale focus | Linkout » |
| genome browser | GBrowse at LIS based on genome build 2.5. Provides a comparative focus | Linkout » |
| other | Proteome database at the Center for Biological Sequence Analysis | Linkout » |
| other | RevGenUK TILLING database at the John Innes Centre | Linkout » |
| other | Lj marker database at Kazusa | Linkout » |
| other | Lj at Legume Base | Linkout » |
| other | Resources at the John Innes Centre | Linkout » |
| other | Lotus newsletter at INIA Uraguay | Linkout » |
| other | RhizoBase at Kazusa | Linkout » |
| publications | Current publications on Lotus japonicus at PubMed | Linkout » |
| transcript assembly | Gene index at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute | Linkout » |
| transcript assembly | Assemblies at JCVI | Linkout » |
| transcript assembly | Current UniGene build at NCBI | Linkout » |
| transcript assembly | Transcript assemblies at LIS | Linkout » |
Reference Data
| Type | Description | Source | URL |
|---|---|---|---|
| Genetic Map | Genetic maps | Kazusa DNA Res. Inst. | Download » |
| Genome | Genome assembly and associated files | Kazusa DNA Res. Inst. | Download » |
Selected References
Current publications on Lotus japonicus at PubMed.
Tamura M, Tachida H. Evolution of the number of LRRs in plant disease resistance genes. Mol Genet Genomics. 2011 May; 285(5): 393-402.
Fotelli MN, Tsikou D, Kolliopoulou A, Aivalakis G, Katinakis P, Udvardi MK, Rennenberg H, Flemetakis E. Nodulation enhances dark CO2 fixation and recycling in the model legume Lotus japonicus. Exp Bot. 2011 May; 62(8): 2959-71.
Wang X, Sato S, Tabata S, Kawasaki S. A high-density linkage map of Lotus japonicus based on AFLP and SSR markers. NA Res. 2008 Oct; 15(5): 323-32.
Sato S, Nakamura Y, Kaneko T, Asamizu E, Kato T, Nakao M, Sasamoto S, Watanabe A, Ono A, Kawashima K, Fujishiro T, Katoh M, Kohara M, Kishida Y, Minami C, Nakayama S, Nakazaki N, Shimizu Y, Shinpo S, Takahashi C, Wada T, Yamada M, Ohmido N, Hayashi M, Fukui K, Baba T, Nakamichi T, Mori H, Tabata S. Genome structure of the legume, Lotus japonicus. DNA Res. 2008 Aug; 15(4): 227-39.
Hougaard BK, Madsen LH, Sandal N, de Carvalho Moretzsohn M, Fredslund J, Schauser L, Nielsen AM, Rohde T, Sato S, Tabata S, Bertioli DJ, Stougaard J. Legume anchor markers link syntenic regions between Phaseolus vulgaris, Lotus japonicus, Medicago truncatula and Arachis. Genetics. 2008 Aug; 179(4): 2299-312.
Sato S, Tabata S. Lotus japonicus as a platform for legume research. Curr Opin Plant Biol. 2006 Apr; 9(2): 128-32.
Udvardi MK, Tabata S, Parniske M, Stougaard J. Lotus japonicus: legume research in the fast lane. Trends Plant Sci. 2005 May; 10(5): 222-8.
Young ND, Cannon SB, Sato S, Kim D, Cook DR, Town CD, Roe BA, Tabata S. Sequencing the genespaces of Medicago truncatula and Lotus japonicus. Plant Physiol. 2005 April; 137(4): 1174–1181.
Desbrosses GG, Kopka J, Udvarti MK. Lotus japonicus metabolic profiling. Development of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry resources for the study of plant-microbe interactions. Plant Physiol. 2005 April; 137(4): 1302–1318.
Kouchi H, Shimomura K, Hata S, Hirota A, Wu GJ, Kumagai H, Tajima S, Suganuma N, Suzuki A, Aoki T, Hayashi M, Yokoyama T, Ohyama T, Asamizu E, Kuwata C, Shibata D, Tabata S. Large-scale analysis of gene expression profiles during early stages of root nodule formation in a model legume, Lotus japonicus. DNA Res. 2004 Aug 31; 11(4): 263-74.
Kato T, Kaneko T, Sato S. Nakamura Y, Tabata S. Complete structure of the chloroplast genome of a legume, Lotus japonicus. DNA Res. 2000 323-330.