Estimated number of genes

Range 42,000-56,000 unitless
Organism Corn Zea mays
Reference Haberer et al., Structure and architecture of the maize genome. Plant Physiol. 2005 Dec139(4):1612-24. p. 1622 left column, 2nd paragraphPubMed ID16339807
Method "Of the bacterial artificial chromosomes (BACs) sequenced in this study, 80% were found to contain genes. Full-length genes average 4 kb in length, somewhat larger than in rice and Arabidopsis. Longer introns in maize, due in part to transposon insertions, are responsible for most of the increase in gene size. The density of genes is widely variable, ranging from 0.5 to 10.7 genes per 100 kb over a relatively even distribution, and does not suggest that a large fraction of genes are tightly clustered in islands."
Comments "Based on these data, [researchers] estimate that maize has roughly 42,000 to 56,000 genes, substantially more than rice or Arabidopsis. This reflects the history of the maize genome, which includes a relatively recent whole genome duplication (WGD) event, subsequent gene loss, and expansion of gene families. The WGD also appears to contribute to an increase in intergenic space void of apparent repeat sequences." See BNID 110565
Entered by Uri M
ID 105521