Gene density
Ratio of number of genes per number of base pairs
In genetics , the gene density of an organism's genome is the ratio of the number of genes per number of base pairs , usually written in terms of a million base pairs, or megabase (Mb). The human genome has a gene density of 11-15 genes/Mb, while the genome of the C. elegans roundworm is estimated to have 200.
Seemingly simple organisms, such as bacteria and amoebas , have a much higher gene density than humans. Bacterial DNA has a gene density on the order of 500-1000 genes/Mb. This is due several factors, including that the fact that bacterial DNA has no introns . There are also fewer codons in bacterial genes.
Species
Protozoa
species
number of genes
base pairs in genome (Mb)
gene density
Babesia microti
3,685
6.4
575.8
Besnoitia besnoiti
8,546
58.8
145.3
Cryptosporidium parvum
3,887
9.1
427.1
Giardia intestinalis
5,388
11.5
468.5
Leishmania donovani
8,123
32.4
250.7
Plasmodium falciparum
5,683
23.5
241.8
Phytophthora infestans
19,344
203.2
95.2
Tetrahymena thermophila
26,996
130.4
207
Theileria parva
4,141
8.3
498.9
Toxoplasma gondii
8,925
64.5
138.4
Trypanosoma cruzi
25,183
32.5
774.9
Fungi
species
number of genes
base pairs in genome (Mb)
gene density
Agaricus bisporus
11,459
30.7
373.3
Aspergillus nidulans
9,586
30.6
313.3
Aspergillus niger
10,828
35.6
304.2
Candida albicans
6,263
14.7
426.1
Cryptococcus neoformans
7,004
18.6
376.5
Debaryomyces hansenii
6,495
12.1
536.8
Encephalitozoon cuniculi
2,029
2.3
882.2
Eremothecium gossypii
5,356
9.1
588.6
Fusarium oxysporum
21,354
52.4
407.5
Kluyveromyces lactis
5,335
10.6
503.3
Lasiodiplodia theobromae
13,054
43.6
299.4
Neurospora crassa
10,590
41.3
256.4
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
6,445
11.9
541.6
Saccharomyces paradoxus
5,840
12
486.6
Schizosaccharomyces pombe
6,974
12.8
544.8
Talaromyces marneffei
10,138
28.3
358.2
Tremella mesenterica
8,292
27.9
297.2
Trichoderma harzianum
14,294
40.7
351.2
Trichophyton rubrum
8,804
23.1
381.1
Ustilago maydis
6,909
19.9
347.2
Wallemia ichthyophaga
5,000
9.5
526.3
Yarrowia lipolytica
7,144
20.3
351.9
Plants
species
common name
number of genes
base pairs in genome (Mb)
gene density
Ananas comosus
pineapple
25,758
382
67.4
Arabidopsis thaliana
thale cress
38,311
119
321.9
Asparagus officinalis
asparagus
32,237
1,187
27.2
Brassica rapa
field mustard
51,592
333
154.9
Cannabis sativa
cannabis
31,170
876
35.6
Cajanus cajan
pigeon pea
33,495
593
56.5
Capsicum annuum
pepper
41,729
2,909
14.3
Coffea arabica
coffee
56,902
1,094
52
Glycine max
soybean
59,905
995.7
60.2
Juglans regia
English walnut
37,996
634.7
59.9
Nicotiana tabacum
tobacco
74,273
3,734.2
19.9
Olea europaea
olive
47,911
1,316.7
36.4
Oryza sativa
rice
35,223
385
91.5
Panicum hallii
grass
31,528
511.6
61.6
Physcomitrium patens
spreading earthmoss
23,747
472
50.3
Prunus dulcis
almond
26,936
236.9
113.7
Prunus persica
peach
26,412
214.2
123.3
Punica granatum
pomegrante
29,281
308.4
94.9
Rosa chinensis
rose
40,349
513.9
78.5
Solanum lycopersicum
tomato
31,263
813
38.5
Solanum tuberosum
potato
33,606
760
44.2
Theobroma cacao
cocoa
24,957
335
74.5
Zea mays
corn
49,796
2,197
22.7
Invertebrate
invertebrate species
species
common name
number of genes
base pairs in genome (Mb)
gene density
Aedes aegypti
yellow fever mosquito
19,623
1,274
15.4
Anopheles gambiae
African malaria mosquito
13,247
250
53
Apis mellifera
honey bee
12,374
226
54.8
Caenorhabditis elegans
C. elegans
47,632
102
467
Daphnia magna
water flea
21,549
126
171
Drosophila melanogaster
fruit fly
17,868
137
130.4
Hydra vulgaris
hydra
22,980
1,055
21.8
Limulus polyphemus
horseshoe crab
27,318
1,828
14.9
Octopus sinensis
octopus
29,784
2,719
11
Pediculus humanus
human louse
10,993
110
99.9
Strongylocentrotus purpuratus
purple sea urchin
33,504
921
36.4
Vertebrate non-mammals
species
common name
number of genes
base pairs in genome (Mb)
gene density
Alligator mississippiensis
American alligator
25,279
2,161
11.7
Anolis carolinensis
anole lizard
22,293
1,799
12.4
Astyanax mexicanus
Mexican tetra
31,695
1,263
25.1
Columba livia
pigeon
26,679
1,063
25.1
Danio rerio
zebrafish
47,350
1,408
33.6
Gallus gallus
chicken
24,402
1,043
23.4
Nothobranchius furzeri
turquoise killifish
25,387
1,052
24.1
Oryzias latipes
Japanese rice fish
26,846
746
36
Petromyzon marinus
sea lamprey
22,167
987
22.5
Taeniopygia guttata
zebra finch
21,543
1,069
20.2
Takifugu rubripes
Japanese puffer
27,413
384
71.8
Xenopus tropicalis
tropical clawed frog
28,863
1,468
19.7
Xenopus laevis
African clawed frog
37,283
2,718
13.7
Vertebrate mammals
species
common name
number of genes
base pairs in genome (Mb)
gene density
Acinonyx jubatus
cheetah
34,482
2,378
14.5
Ailuropoda melanoleuca
giant panda
32,950
2,371
13.9
Aotus nancymaae
night monkey
31,331
2,861
11
Artibeus jamaicensis
Jamaican fruit-eating bat
31,480
2,316
13.6
Arvicanthis niloticus
African grass rat
31,912
2,496
12.8
Balaenoptera acutorostrata
minke whale
26,805
2,431
11
Balaenoptera musculus
blue whale
27,194
2,105
12.9
Bison bison
American bison
27,488
2,828
9.7
Bos mutus
wild yak
26,159
2,703
9.7
Bos taurus
cattle
35,061
2,715
12.9
Canis lupus familiaris
dog
36,717
2,370
15.5
Chinchilla lanigera
long-tailed chinchilla
30,378
2,390
12.7
Felis catus
cat
35,521
2,521
14
Gorilla gorilla
gorilla
35,419
3,063
11.6
Homo sapiens
human
44,507
2,861
15.5
Macaca mulatta
Rhesus monkey
40,164
2,970
13.5
Mus musculus
house mouse
42,823
2,689
15.9
Pan troglodytes
chimpanzee
40,769
3,050
13.4
Rattus norvegicus
brown rat
38,371
2,743
14
Sus scrofa
pig
30,345
2,459
12.3
Gene count is calculated by the number of gene flags in the latest version of a given species gtf annotation file. Bear in mind that well studied organisms will probably have higher gene counts because these species have better annotation, therefore these numbers are estimates for comparison.