Tiny Fern Contains the Largest Genome on Earth

A multinational group of researchers discovered a fern that has the largest genome on Earth. Their findings provide new opportunities for studying how genomic gigantism has evolved.

Vascular plants attract the interest of researchers due to their exceptional genome size diversity. Present data indicate that large genomes are constrained throughout the eukaryotes, but the biological limitations to genome size expansion have yet to be determined.

Scientists from Institut Botànic de Barcelona and partners found the New Caledonian folk fern (Tmesipteris oblanceolata) on a remote Pacific island, which has a genome size of 160.45 Gbp/1C. The fork fern's genome is more than 50 times bigger than the human genome and 7% larger than the canopy plant (Paris japonica), which has the previous record for the largest genome around the globe. Due to this discovery, the Guinness World Record was recently awarded to folk fern for its extraordinary genome size.

For more information, read the article on iScience.