Genomic gigantism in the whisk-fern family (Psilotaceae): Tmesipteris obliqua challenges record holder Paris japonica

© 2017 The Linnean Society of London. We report the discovery of the largest fern genome in Tmesipteris obliqua (1C = 150.61 pg), a species belonging to the whisk-fern family, Psilotaceae. Its genome size estimated by flow cytometry is comparable with the largest genome so far reported for any eukar...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Hidalgo, O., Pellicer, J., Christenhusz, Maarten, Schneider, H., Leitch, I.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Wiley-Blackwell 2017
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/72913
Description
Summary:© 2017 The Linnean Society of London. We report the discovery of the largest fern genome in Tmesipteris obliqua (1C = 150.61 pg), a species belonging to the whisk-fern family, Psilotaceae. Its genome size estimated by flow cytometry is comparable with the largest genome so far reported for any eukaryote, in the monocot Paris japonica (Melanthiaceae; 1C = 152.23 pg). The addition of this new record doubles the range of genome size values so far encountered in ferns from 97.2-fold (0.77-74.84 pg/1C) to 196-fold (0.77-150.61 pg/1C). This finding emphasizes the importance of filling taxonomic gaps in our knowledge to uncover the full extent of genome size diversity across the different lineages of land plants.