Genetius

The study identifies MtFTb1 and MtFTb2 as essential, redundant regulators of long‑day flowering in the legume Medicago truncatula, demonstrating that they are required for up‑regulating MtFTa1 under vernalised long‑day conditions. Using CRISPR/Cas9‑generated single and double mutants, the authors show that double mutants are specifically delayed in flowering under long days while retaining vernalization responsiveness, and transcriptomic analyses reveal that MtFTb1/2 activate MADS‑box genes and other flowering regulators.

The study investigated whether nitrogen‑fixing rhizobial symbiosis in Medicago truncatula primes defense against the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum. Metabolite profiling (LC‑MS, GC‑MS) and qPCR revealed that symbiotic plants uniquely accumulated triterpenoid saponins and up‑regulated flavonoid‑biosynthetic genes after aphid infestation, suggesting that NFS enhances pest‑specific defenses.