Legumes have played an important part in cropping systems since the dawn of agriculture, both as human food and as animal feed. The legume family is arguably one of the most abundantly domesticated crop plant families. Their ability to symbiotically fix nitrogen and improve soil fertility has been rewarded since antiquity and makes them a key protein source. The pea was the original model organism used in Mendel's discovery of the laws of inheritance, making it the foundation of modern plant genetics. This Special Issue provides up-to-date information on legume biology, genetic advances, and the legacy of Mendel.

Department of Botany Faculty of Sciences Palacký University 779 00 Olomouc Czech Republic

Department of Plant and Soil Sciences and Gund Institute for the Environment University of Vermont Burlington VT 05405 USA

Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology Department Montana State University Bozeman MT 59717 USA

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