About Lotus japonicus (Regel) K.Larsen
Lotus japonicus is a wild legume in the plant family Fabaceae. This family is extremely diverse, made up of approximately 20,000 species. Fabaceae species are of notable agricultural and biological importance: many legume species are rich sources of protein and oil, and are capable of fixing atmospheric nitrogen.
Lotus japonicus has been developed as a model plant for legume genome studies, especially research focused on rhizobial and arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis. Its features make it a convenient study organism: it has a small genome of roughly 470 Mb, a diploid genome with 6 haploid chromosomes, a short 2 to 3 month life cycle, and it is a perennial species.
Lotus japonicus shares multiple characteristics with the legume Medicago truncatula, but the two species are phylogenetically distinct, and have two different nodule development systems. Lotus japonicus forms determinate nodules.
