Living Fossil Has 'Largest of All Animal Genomes'—30x the DNA in Humans
by Story by Jess Thomson 08-15-2024
Abizarre and ugly fish that has been around for hundreds of millions of years has been discovered to have the most DNA of any animal ever found.
These South American lungfish (Lepidosiren paradoxa) have around 30 times as much DNA as humans, according to a new paper in the journal Nature, which may give us clues as to how life transitioned from water to land.
These lungfish, alongside two other species currently alive today—African lungfish (Protopterus annectens) and Australian lungfish (Neoceratodus forsteri)—are sometimes known as "living fossils" because they are nearly exactly the same as their ancestors from the Devonian period, some 420 to 360 million years ago.
"The Lepidosiren genome (about 91 Gb, roughly 30 times the human genome) is the largest animal genome sequenced so far and more than twice the size of the Australian (Neoceratodus forsteri) and African lungfishes," the researchers wrote in the paper.
Modern lungfish can breathe air using their lungs, in addition to extracting oxygen through gills like other fish. Lungfish are the closest living ancestor of early lobe-finned fish (Sarcopterygii), which were also our ancient ancestors, giving rise to the first four-limbed animals that eventually colonized land.
doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07830-1
by Story by Jess Thomson 08-15-2024
Abizarre and ugly fish that has been around for hundreds of millions of years has been discovered to have the most DNA of any animal ever found.
These South American lungfish (Lepidosiren paradoxa) have around 30 times as much DNA as humans, according to a new paper in the journal Nature, which may give us clues as to how life transitioned from water to land.
These lungfish, alongside two other species currently alive today—African lungfish (Protopterus annectens) and Australian lungfish (Neoceratodus forsteri)—are sometimes known as "living fossils" because they are nearly exactly the same as their ancestors from the Devonian period, some 420 to 360 million years ago.
"The Lepidosiren genome (about 91 Gb, roughly 30 times the human genome) is the largest animal genome sequenced so far and more than twice the size of the Australian (Neoceratodus forsteri) and African lungfishes," the researchers wrote in the paper.
Modern lungfish can breathe air using their lungs, in addition to extracting oxygen through gills like other fish. Lungfish are the closest living ancestor of early lobe-finned fish (Sarcopterygii), which were also our ancient ancestors, giving rise to the first four-limbed animals that eventually colonized land.
doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07830-1