C-Value is defined as “the amount of DNA per haploid cell or the number of kilobases per haploid cell at any given time” (Swift 1950). The C-Value Paradox states that C-Value or genome size does not always equal the number of genes contained within the genome or complexity of the organism. Order of magnitude is when more DNA than what is necessary to encode for proteins. The prokaryotic genome is much simpler than the complex genome of the eukaryote yet Arabidopsis thaliana has around forty times the amount of total base pairs than humans, but the same amount of protein encoding genes. Complex genomes found in the eukaryote contain introns in genes, regulatory mechanisms of genes, pseudogenes, multiple copies of genes, intergenic sequences, and repetitive DNA. All of these factors help to explain and provide evidence for the C-Value Paradox.
II. Origin of The C-Value Paradox
The origin of the C-Value
III. Genome Size vs. Protein Encoding Genes …show more content…
In reference to Figure 1, Drosophila melanogaster has a total genome size of one-hundred and seventy million base pairs of which yields only fourteen-thousand protein encoding genes. However, humans have a total of around three billion base pairs that yield roughly twenty-one thousand protein encoding genes. Drosophila melanogaster is relatively simple compared to the complexity of Homo sapiens, yet Drosophila melanogaster has almost one-hundred and sixty-nine billion more total base pairs in its genome. The difference is that Homo Sapiens have around ten-thousand more protein encoding genes than Drosophila