Legumes’ contributions to genetic research, a historical perspective from Mendelism up to massive sequencing

Abstract

It is well known that Mendel chose peas as the study material for his experiments that are the cornerstone of genetics. Nonetheless, it is less known that he also experimented with other legumes although with reduced success, or that Darwin also experimented with legumes. During the first decade of the twentieth century, peas were the favorite material used to verify Mendel’s results. Although genetics after that time primarily developed using other eukaryotic organisms or microorganisms, legumes pertain to the core material that allowed Vavilov to develop his Law of Homologous Series in Variation. They have also been used as a model to study plant-microbe symbiotic relationships that enable the fixation of atmospheric nitrogen, making them one of the biological models of the genomic age. Over the last five years, several genome sequences of cultivated legume species have been published, with many more to be made public in the upcoming years. Consequently, the amount of theoretical knowledge accumulating in this area and its application in plant breeding are increasing exponentially.