Abstract
Modern whole-organism genome analysis, in combination with biomass estimates, allows us to estimate a lower bound on the total information content in the biosphere: 5.3 x 10(31) (+/- 3.6 x 10(31)) megabases (Mb) of DNA. Given conservative estimates regarding DNA transcription rates, this information content suggests biosphere processing speeds exceeding yottaNOPS values (10(24) Nucleotide Operations Per Second). Although prokaryotes evolved at least 3 billion years before plants and animals, we find that the information content of prokaryotes is similar to plants and animals at the present day. This information-based approach offers a new way to quantify anthropogenic and natural processes in the biosphere and its information diversity over time.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 1002168 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | PLoS Biology |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jun 2015 |
Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)
- SOIL PROTOZOA
- GENOME SIZE
- CARBON
- LIFE
- EVOLUTION
- WEIGHT
- IMPACT
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics of 'An Estimate of the Total DNA in the Biosphere'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Cite this
- APA
- Author
- BIBTEX
- Harvard
- Standard
- RIS
- Vancouver