Does Bigger
Mean Better?
Lungfish
130,000 Mb
Red-Spotted Newt
39,100 Mb
Chicken
1,200 Mb
Human
3,200 Mb
Dog
2,400 Mb
White Spruce
23,600 Mb
= 100 megabases
A megabase (Mb) is a unit of length for DNA equal to
1 million base pairs of nucleotides.
Legend
Genome size is the total amount of DNA in one copy of an
organism’s genome, typically measured in millions of base
pairs (Mb). There is a huge range in genome sizes across
plants and animals, from living organisms of 150,000 Mb
to the E. coli genome of 4.6 Mb. Dogs and humans have
smaller genomes than many species, making them easier
to study genetically than, say, a lungfish.
Assessment available in
Does Bigger
Mean Better?
Lungfish
130,000 Mb
Red-Spotted Newt
39,100 Mb
Chicken
1,200 Mb
Human
3,200 Mb
Dog
2,400 Mb
White Spruce
23,600 Mb
= 100 megabases
A megabase (Mb) is a unit of length for DNA equal to
1 million base pairs of nucleotides.
Legend
Genome size is the total amount of DNA in one copy of an
organism’s genome, typically measured in millions of base
pairs (Mb). There is a huge range in genome sizes across
plants and animals, from living organisms of 150,000 Mb
to the E. coli genome of 4.6 Mb. Dogs and humans have
smaller genomes than many species, making them easier
to study genetically than, say, a lungfish.
Assessment available in