Unfurling the Mystery of Plant Chromosome Numbers - Dr Paul Wolf, University of Alabama

Plants are more tolerant of changes in their chromosome number than animals. Even dramatic changes, such as doubling of the entire genome, sometimes leads to beneficial outcomes. Though a history of genome doubling is common in most plants, the chromosome number in many plants does not reflect this. Complex genome downsizing processes help these plants shed extra genetic information, but are poorly understood. Through comparisons with ferns – a group with high chromosome numbers – Dr Paul Wolf from the University of Alabama in Huntsville aims to shed light on genome downsizing.