South American lungfish reportedly has the largest sequenced animal genome

Science reports that researchers in 2024 put the South American lungfish’s genome at 91 billion DNA bases, the largest sequenced in an animal so far. It has roughly 20,000 genes, about as many as humans, while much of the rest is noncoding DNA that may be “junk.” By comparing lungfish genomes, researchers determined that the species adds the equivalent of a human genome to its DNA every 10 million years.