Ironically, plants now hold the record for the highest number of genes (40,000 to 50,000 genes for rice—some 10,000 more than humans). If our criterion for superiority is gene number, then it is the plants who represent the height of evolution, not mammals.Why do plants have so many genes? One suggestion is that because plants are immobile they cannot avoid danger by moving. Instead they must stand and face it like a man—or rather like a vegetable. This means that plants have accumulated many genes involved in defense against predators and pests as well as for adapting to changing environmental conditions.
Ironically, plants now hold the record for the highest number of genes (40,000 to 50,000 genes for rice—some 10,000 more than humans). If our criterion for superiority is gene number, then it is the plants who represent the height of evolution, not mammals.Why do plants have so many genes? One suggestion is that because plants are immobile they cannot avoid danger by moving. Instead they must stand and face it like a man—or rather like a vegetable. This means that plants have accumulated many genes involved in defense against predators and pests as well as for adapting to changing environmental conditions.
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