Living fossil genome unveiled
Published today in the open-access journal GigaScience, is an article that presents the genome sequence of Ginkgo biloba, the oldest extant tree species. The research was carried out by a team of scientists at BGI, Zheijiang University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who tackled and analyzed an exceptionally large genome, totalling more than 10 billion DNA "letters". Ginkgo is considered a "living fossil", meaning its form and structure have changed very little in the 270 million years since it first came into existence. Given its longevity as a species and unique position in the evolutionary tree of life, the ginkgo genome will provide an extensive resource for studies concerning plant defenses against insects and pathogens, and research investigating early events in tree evolution and in evolution overall.