Christmas Tree Genome Remains almost the Same 100 MYA

Researchers from Université Laval and Canadian Forest Service (CFS) reported that the genome of conifers such as spruce, pine, and fir remained almost the same for more than 100 million years. CFS professor Jean Bousquet and team compared the genomes of 157 gene families of both conifers and flowering plants and observed that the conifers remained particularly stable for at least 100 million years while the genome of flowering plants went through significant changes for the same time period. However, smaller scale modifications were evident in the conifers such as genetic mutations but their macrostructure has been remarkably stable. This extraordinary genomic stability explains why today's conifers have high resemblance with the fossils from the days when dinosaurs still exist.

The original article is available in French at http://www.relationsmedias.ulaval.ca/comm/2012/decembre/arbre-noel-son-genome-ont-presque-3327.html.