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A comment on Tiny fern has the largest genome of any organism on Earth. Parent comment

Re:Tiny fern has the largest genome of any organism on Earth by thelastgallon on Saturday June 08, 2024 @04:50PM (#40620099)
Humans outsource a lot to the microbiome. We have to add up all that too!
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Re:Tiny fern has the largest genome of any organism on Earth by throwup238 on Saturday June 08, 2024 @05:42PM (#40620364)
As far as we know, all complex organisms have an accompanying microbiome of commensurate species, even the most basic ones like marine sponges [1]. Plants nurture these symbionts in their roots while animals do it in their digestive tracts (mostly, both have surface microbes too that do various things too).

[1] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41396-020-0591-9

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