ArticleNature communications2025
Medicago super-pangenome reveals adaptive advantages and evolutionary constraints in autotetraploid alfalfa.
Article in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Genome-wide identification of rhabdoviral sequences in alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.).Virus genes · 2026Article
- The Rise of Plant Pan-Genomes: From Genome Variation to Predictive Breeding.Advanced genetics (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2026Article
- Iron status modulates cadmium tolerance: mechanistic insights fromFrontiers in plant science · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
22 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The genetic basis for the adaptive advantages of polyploids over their diploid relatives remains poorly understood. To address this knowledge gap, we generate a haplotype-resolved autotetraploid alfalfa (Medicago sativa subsp. sativa) genome and construct a super-pangenome from 13 genomes across seven Medicago taxa. We discover substantial gene content variation in alfalfa, with only 20.1% of genes present on all four haplotypes. Within this group, 53.3% are core genes conserved across the Medicago genus, which we term 'tetra-copy core genes'. We find these genes are significantly enriched in climate-adaptation-associated genes (1.60-fold) and stress-responsive differentially expressed genes (1.61-fold). Paradoxically, they also carry a high genetic burden, with 80.1% of deleterious variants located in coding regions. Indeed, overexpressing a representative tetra-copy core gene, the glycine decarboxylase (MsGDC), improves both biomass and nitrogen use efficiency, despite its high genetic burden. Our study reveals the trade-off between adaptation and evolutionary constraints mediated by tetra-copy core genes, facilitating polyploid genetics and alfalfa breeding.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.