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Updated · NPR · May 19Plants With Extra Chromosome Sets May Better Survive Climate Change
8 articles · Updated · NPR · May 19
- Certain plants with extra sets of chromosomes appear better equipped to survive major environmental shocks, including climate change.
- Those added chromosome sets give some species a genetic advantage that can improve resilience when conditions shift dramatically.
- The finding points to polyploidy—a trait already present in some plants—as a potential factor in which species persist through future climate stress.
If extra genes are a superpower for plants, why are they a death sentence for humans? Could engineering 'super crops' create a food system that is only resilient during disasters? Did the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs help create today's most important crops?