Tree has twice as many genes as us

IT MAY be a tree, yet it has twice as many genes as us.

The first sequence of a tree genome has revealed that the black cottonwood poplar (Populus trichocarpa) has more than 45,000 genes. The sequencing turned up many genes unique to trees, including 90 or so linked with the production of lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose - the major polymers that give wood its strength and characteristic hardness (Science, vol 313, p 1596).