---
title: "108 copies of every gene"
url: https://plants.lasse.co.uk/fact-archive/not-a-rock/
---

# 108 copies of every gene
Date: 2026-06-28

A tiny fern species holds the current record for the largest genome. The genome of *Tmesipteris oblanceolate* is 160 billion base pairs (Gbp), compared to only 3.1 Gbp for the human genome. What does all this extra DNA do? Unlike animals, many plants are able to undergo whole genome duplication events which increase the size of their genome without problems, possibly as an adaptation to environmental stress



## References:

1. [Read the full paper here](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2024.109889)




## Related Pages

- [Strawberries are octoploid!](https://plants.lasse.co.uk/fact-archive/strawberries-are-octoploid.md)



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