Bigger genomes provide environment‐dependent growth benefits in grasses

Increasing genome size (GS) has been associated with slower rates of DNA replication and greater cellular nitrogen (N) and phosphorus demands. Despite most plant species having small genomes, the existence of larger GS species suggests that such costs may be negligible or represent benefits under certain conditions.

Focussing on the widespread and diverse grass family (Poaceae), we used data on species' climatic niches and growth rates under different environmental conditions to test for growth costs or benefits associated with GS. The influence of photosynthetic pathway, life history and evolutionary history on grass GS was also explored.

We found that evolutionary history, photosynthetic pathway and life history all influence the distribution of grass species' GS. Genomes were smaller in annual and C₄ species, the latter allowing for small cells necessary for C₄ leaf anatomy. We found larger GS were associated with high N availability and, for perennial species, low growth‐season temperature.

Our findings reveal that GS is a globally important predictor of grass performance dependent on environmental conditions. The benefits for species with larger GS are likely due to associated larger cell sizes, allowing rapid biomass production where soil fertility meets N demands and/or when growth occurs via temperature‐independent cell expansion.