Satellite DNA is a genomic component present in virtually all eukaryotic organisms and is an important element in genome organization and evolution in plants. Rosato el al. assess the presence and physical distribution of the repetitive DNA E180 family in 70 accessions from Medicago and allied genera. The results suggest that recurrent and independent evolutionary episodes of amplification appear to have been produced in both annual and perennial Medicago species as well as in basal and derived clades, and hence the use of repetitive DNA families as phylogenetic markers in this genus should be viewed with caution.
