Claim: White flower has world's longest genome -- fifty times a big as a human's [View All]

[Elmore Furth]

I guess human's aren't in the running for the largest genome, even though they are at the apex of evolutionary egotism.

By RAPHAEL G. SATTER, Associated Press Writer Raphael G. Satter, Associated Press Writer – Thu Oct 7, 5:43 pm ET
LONDON – An ordinary-looking white flower from Japan may carry something quite extraordinary within its pale petals — the longest genome ever discovered.

Researchers at London's Kew Gardens said Thursday they'd discovered that the Paris japonica has a genetic code 50 times longer than that of a human being. The length of that code easily beats its nearest competitor, a long-bodied muck dweller known as the marbled lungfish.

Leitch and her colleagues suspected the plant might have an larger-than-usual genetic code as its relatives have rather large ones too. But the sheer size of this flower's genome caught them by surprise. If laid end-to-end it would stretch to more than 300 feet.

The human genome, for example, has about 3 million bases and measures about 6 feet in length. The marbled lungfish has a whopping 130 million bases. And the 12-inch (30-centimeter) flower studied by Leitch turns out to have 150 million.


Claim: White flower has world's longest genome