The National Center for Genome Resources and the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation today announced a collaboration that aims to serve as a model for agricultural genetic research among nonprofit organizations. The goal of the two-year project is to identify expressed gene sequences in M. truncatula with novel functions, which ultimately can help improve the quality of the plant, grown as a protein source. M. truncatula and its better-known cousins, soybeans and alfalfa, are members of the legume family, one of the most important groups of plants.
Legumes are a crucial source of protein for humans and forage food for animals.
M. truncatula , in particular, is a good plant for study because, unlike alfalfa, it has a relatively small genome and is amenable to efficient genetic and molecular analysis. By analyzing the plant's genetics, the two organizations aim to better understand several biological processes including the expression of its genes, potentially leading to enhancing yield and forage quality in M. truncatula . The research results will become public knowledge, accessible via the Web. The project is set up to allow Noble to focus on data generation and NCGR to focus on structuring the data analysis. Noble conducts extensive research in agricultural sciences, and NCGR's specialty is bioinformatics, which employs mathematics and computer science to analyze biological data.