Medicago truncatula (model legume), Medicago sativa (alfalfa), Medicago polymorpha (bur clover), and Medicago ruthenica

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) is one of the most widely grown forage crops, providing a major protein source for livestock. In the tetraploid alfalfa genome, the four allelic chromosomes have a low level of sequence divergence, with similar sizes, numbers of genes, and repeat element contents, proving that autotetraploid alfalfa is a stable, random-pairing species.