Skip to main content
ARS Home » Midwest Area » St. Paul, Minnesota » Plant Science Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #212789
Title: Legume biology: sequence to seeds

Author
item O'BRIAN, MARK - UNIVERSITY OF BUFFALO, NY
item Vance, Carroll

Submitted to: Plant Physiology
Publication Type: Other
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/15/2007
Publication Date: 6/4/2007
Citation: O'Brian, M.R., Vance, C.P. 2007. Legume biology: sequence to seeds. Plant Physiology. 144:537.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Research on legumes is driven, to a large extent, by their importance as food crops worldwide. Some 25% of the world's major crop production is derived from legumes, and more than one-third of humanity's nutritional nitrogen requirement comes from legumes. Moreover, the ability of many legumes to establish symbiosis with nitrogen-fixing bacteria reduces the cost of growth and makes them a valuable source of soil nitrogen for other crops. Progress in legume research and advances in genomics hold the promise of improved crop yields, better nutrition, and the development of novel bio-products. Although studied in a particular context, discoveries in signal transduction, organ and seed development, microbial infection, nutritional stress, and the evolution of genomes are of broad interest because they contribute to our understanding of fundamental problems in plant biology.