Lungfish claims biggest animal genome: 91 billion bases, 30x human DNA
cephaloform · x · 2026-10-05
- Science magazine highlights that the South American lungfish (Lepidosiren paradoxa) holds the record for the largest sequenced animal genome: 91 billion bases, about 30x the human genome.
- Despite its enormous genome, it carries roughly the same number of genes as humans (20,000); the rest is noncoding, possibly "junk" DNA.
- By comparing with other lungfish genomes, researchers found it adds the equivalent of a human genome's worth of DNA every 10 million years.
The original poster quipped that this is "where the soul is stored."
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