''Genlisea tuberosa'' is a

carnivorous A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose nutrition and energy requirements are met by consumption of animal tissues (mainly mu ...

species in the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

'' Genlisea'' (family Lentibulariaceae) that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

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

protozoa Protozoa (: protozoan or protozoon; alternative plural: protozoans) are a polyphyletic group of single-celled eukaryotes, either free-living or parasitic, that feed on organic matter such as other microorganisms or organic debris. Historically ...

ns. This species is unique in the genus in its formation of

tuber Tubers are a type of enlarged structure that plants use as storage organs for nutrients, derived from stems or roots. Tubers help plants perennate (survive winter or dry months), provide energy and nutrients, and are a means of asexual reproduc ...

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

genome 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 genes, other functional regions of the genome such as ...

of any

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

, 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 () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...

Goiás Goiás () is a Brazilian States of Brazil, state located in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region. Goiás borders the Federal District (Brazil), Federal District and the states of (from north clockwise) Tocantins, Bahia, Minas Ge ...

, Distrito Federal, and

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...

. 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, B ...

'', ''

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

'', 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 Lentibulariaceae family. According to the study, prior to its publication the smallest known

angiosperm Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed within a fruit ...

(flowering plant) genome was that of ''

Arabidopsis thaliana ''Arabidopsis thaliana'', the thale cress, mouse-ear cress or arabidopsis, is a small plant from the mustard family (Brassicaceae), native to Eurasia and Africa. Commonly found along the shoulders of roads and in disturbed land, it is generally ...

'' 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 or 10−12 of a gram, abbreviated pg) or less frequently in daltons, or as the tot ...

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 in

, Brazil. Carow, however, identified the specimens he examined as '' Genlisea pygmaea''. The new species was later rediscovered by Fernando Rivadavia 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 tuberosa Plants described in 2013