Last Updated on May 8, 2026 by Jaspreet Kaur
Around 66 million years ago a huge asteroid hit Earth. It caused one of the worst events in the planet’s history. This impact killed all the dinosaurs that were not birds and destroyed one-third of all life on Earth. Even with all the destruction many plants with flowers survived and eventually grew again.
People who study science have always wondered how plants were able to survive big changes in the environment. Now a new study says that something called whole-genome duplication may have helped plants survive disasters.
The team of researchers from around the world found out that plants with copies of their entire genome were more likely to survive during big climate changes and mass extinctions.
According to the researchers the same thing that helped plants in the past could also help them deal with climate change.
What Is Genome Duplication?
Most living things have two sets of chromosomes. One from each parent. Many plants with flowers have extra sets of chromosomes because of something called whole-genome duplication.
For example the bananas we eat usually have three sets of chromosomes and wheat plants can have as many as six sets. These extra copies make the genome bigger and more complex.
Whole-genome duplication happens often in plants but it can be hard to keep the extra genetic material. Bigger genomes need food and energy to survive. They can also increase the chances of mutations and reduce the ability to have babies. Because of these problems many duplicated genomes disappear over time.
Some of them survive for millions of years and scientists have had a hard time figuring out why.
Hidden Advantages
The new study says that duplicated genomes may be very helpful during times of stress in the environment.
Researchers say that extra copies of genes increase diversity and give genes a chance to evolve new functions. This flexibility may help plants deal with conditions like heat, drought, cold or sudden changes in the environment.
The lead researcher, Yves Van de Peer from Ghent University says that whole-genome duplication is often seen as a disadvantage when things are stable. During crises those same genetic traits may become helpful.
The researchers think that duplicated genomes can act like a system giving plants more tools to adapt when ecosystems change suddenly.
Searching Ancient Plant Genomes
To look into this idea the scientists studied the genomes of 470 species of plants with flowers creating one of the datasets ever made for this kind of research.
They looked for repeated blocks of genes that show whole-genome duplication events. Then they compared these patterns with fossil evidence from 44 ancient plant species to figure out when the duplications happened.
The results showed a trend.
Many of the duplicated genes that survived for a time appeared during big episodes of environmental instability and mass extinction.
These events included the asteroid impact that ended the age of dinosaurs 66 million years ago, global cooling periods that caused ecosystems to collapse and the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum or PETM around 56 million years ago.
Lessons From Ancient Climate Change
The PETM is especially important because it involves global warming similar to modern climate change.
During that time Earth’s temperature rose by about 5 to 9 degrees Celsius over 100,000 years. Scientists think it is one of the examples from history to understand how life responds to extreme warming.
The researchers found evidence that plants with chromosomes may have had an advantage during these stressful environmental conditions.
Traits that are usually costly like having complicated genomes may have improved survival during climate crises by increasing adaptability.
Although the climate is warming faster today than during the PETM, the researchers say that ancient plant evolution still gives us valuable clues about how species may respond in the future.
Why Flowering Plants Thrived
Plants with flowers also known as angiosperms are among the successful life forms on Earth today. They are found in forests, grasslands, farms and ecosystems around the world.
The study helps explain why these plants became so resilient over time.
Genome duplication may have allowed plants with flowers to quickly develop traits, survive environmental disasters and take over empty spaces after mass extinctions.
Of being a mistake, duplicated genomes may actually be an important way for plants to survive and this only becomes clear during times of crisis.
This could explain why polyploidy is still so common in plants despite its biological costs.
Relevance Today
The findings also have implications for agriculture and environmental science.
As global temperatures rise droughts get worse and ecosystems face stress understanding how plants naturally adapt to climate change has become more urgent than ever.
Researchers suggest that studying plants with chromosomes could help scientists develop crops that are better suited for future environmental conditions.
Many important crops, including wheat, bananas, potatoes and cotton already have duplicated genomes. Their genetic flexibility may partly explain why they can tolerate climates and growing conditions.
The study shows how ancient evolutionary events are still shaping life on Earth today.
What helped plants survive asteroid impacts, ecosystem collapses and ancient climate disasters may become critical again as modern species face a changing planet.