Abstract
Lotus japonicus is a model legume used for the study of legume-Rhizobium symbiosis (Handberg and Stougaard, 1992; Jiang and Gresshoff, 1997; Schauser et al., 1999). It is a diploid legume with a small genome size (400 Mb) suitable for molecular and genetic analyses (Jiang and Gresshoff, 1993). On the other hand, Glycine max is the most prevalent seed storage protein in soybean, and is important because it is a major contributor to the nutritional quality of foods and feeds generated from this agronomically important crop.
The National Bio Resource Project for the Legume (L. japonicus and G. max) in Japan was established. This object is to provide collection, reproduction, preservation and distribution of the seeds.
