Medicago turbinata
Encyclopedia
Medicago turbinata or Southern medick is a plant species of the genus Medicago
. It is found throughout the Mediterranean basin. It forms a symbiotic
relationship with the bacterium Sinorhizobium medicae, which is capable of nitrogen fixation
. An unidentified lectin
isolated from M. turbinata has shown limited usefulness as a phytohaemagglutinin
.
Medicago
Medicago is a genus of flowering plants, commonly known as medick or burclover. The name is based on Latin medica 'alfalfa, lucerne,' from 'Median .'...
. It is found throughout the Mediterranean basin. It forms a symbiotic
Symbiosis
Symbiosis is close and often long-term interaction between different biological species. In 1877 Bennett used the word symbiosis to describe the mutualistic relationship in lichens...
relationship with the bacterium Sinorhizobium medicae, which is capable of nitrogen fixation
Nitrogen fixation
Nitrogen fixation is the natural process, either biological or abiotic, by which nitrogen in the atmosphere is converted into ammonia . This process is essential for life because fixed nitrogen is required to biosynthesize the basic building blocks of life, e.g., nucleotides for DNA and RNA and...
. An unidentified lectin
Lectin
Lectins are sugar-binding proteins that are highly specific for their sugar moieties. They play a role in biological recognition phenomena involving cells and proteins. For example, some viruses use lectins to attach themselves to the cells of the host organism during infection...
isolated from M. turbinata has shown limited usefulness as a phytohaemagglutinin
Phytohaemagglutinin
Phytohaemagglutinin is a lectin found in plants, especially legumes. PHA actually consists of two closely related proteins, called leucoagglutinin and PHA-E. The letters E and L indicate these proteins agglutinate Erythrocytes and Leukocytes...
.