''Genlisea tuberosa'' is a carnivorous species in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

'' Genlisea'' (family

Lentibulariaceae Lentibulariaceae is a family of carnivorous plants containing three genera: ''Genlisea'', the corkscrew plants; ''Pinguicula'', the butterworts; and ''Utricularia'', the bladderworts. The genera ''Polypompholyx'' (two species of pink petticoats ...

) that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

and found only in '' campos rupestres'' vegetation. Lacking any roots, it has unpigmented bundles of "rootlike" subterranean organs, technically leaves, which attract, trap, and digest protozoans. This species is unique in the genus in its formation of

tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure used as storage organs for nutrients in some plants. They are used for the plant's perennation (survival of the winter or dry months), to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growin ...

s. As of 2014, ''Genlisea tuberosa'' has the smallest known

genome In the fields of molecular biology and genetics, a genome is all the genetic information of an organism. It consists of nucleotide sequences of DNA (or RNA in RNA viruses). The nuclear genome includes protein-coding genes and non-coding g ...

of any

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

, at 61 Mbp, or 61,000,000 base pairs.

Distribution and habitat

''Genlisea tuberosa'' is endemic to Brazil where it is found only in the ''campos rupestres'' vegetation in the Brazilian states of

Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-largest b ...

Goiás Goiás () is a Brazilian state located in the Center-West region. Goiás borders the Federal District and the states of (from north clockwise) Tocantins, Bahia, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul and Mato Grosso. The state capital is Goi ...

Distrito Federal A federal district is a type of administrative division of a federation, usually under the direct control of a federal government and organized sometimes with a single municipal body. Federal districts often include capital districts, and they ...

, and

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...

. It grows in fast-draining sandy soils in seasonally wet areas from altitude. It can be found growing in the presence of other species of ''Genlisea'', including '' G. aurea'', '' G. filiformis'', and '' G. violacea'', and among ''

Utricularia ''Utricularia'', commonly and collectively called the bladderworts, is a genus of carnivorous plants consisting of approximately 233 species (precise counts differ based on classification opinions; a 2001 publication lists 215 species).Salmon, Br ...

'', ''

Drosera ''Drosera'', which is commonly known as the sundews, is one of the largest genera of carnivorous plants, with at least 194 species. 2 volumes. These members of the family Droseraceae lure, capture, and digest insects using stalked mucilaginou ...

'', and some grasses. ''Genlisea tuberosa'' flowers from February to June in its native habitat and enters dormancy during the winter dry season.

Genome

The

s of several species in the genus ''Genlisea'' were studied in 2006 along with other members of the

family. According to the study, prior to its publication the smallest known angiosperm (flowering plant) genome was that of '' Arabidopsis thaliana'' at 157 Megabase pairs (Mbp). This 2006 report identified the related species '' G. margaretae'' as having the smallest known angiosperm

genome size Genome size is the total amount of DNA contained within one copy of a single complete genome. It is typically measured in terms of mass in picograms (trillionths (10−12) of a gram, abbreviated pg) or less frequently in daltons, or as the total ...

at 63.4 Mbp, just 0.2 Mbp lower than that of '' Genlisea aurea''. Further research in 2014 found that the recently described ''Genlisea tuberosa'' has the smallest angiosperm genome known at around 61 Mbp.

Botanical history

''Genlisea tuberosa'' was first discovered by the carnivorous plant specialist Thomas Carow in the late 1980s near the town of

Diamantina Diamantina may refer to: Geography Australia * Diamantina Bowen (1833-1893), ''grande dame'' of Queensland and the wife of Sir George Bowen, the first Governor of Queensland. * ''Diamantina Cocktail'', 1976 album by Little River Band * Diam ...

, Brazil. Carow, however, identified the specimens he examined as '' Genlisea pygmaea''. The new species was later rediscovered by

Fernando Rivadavia Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa, the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka. It is equivalent to the G ...

in 2007 and formally described by Rivadavia, Paulo Minatel Gonella, and Andreas Fleischmann in a 2013 issue of the journal ''Systematic Botany''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q17713072 Carnivorous plants of South America Endemic flora of Brazil Genlisea, tuberosa Plants described in 2013