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Figure D4

There is a good correlation between the kinetic complexity and the chemical complexity of eukaryotic genomes (with the exception of polyploid genomes indicated by P). The chemical complexity is just the amount of DNA per cell determined chemically. For example, the DNA content of humans (haploid = sperm or egg) = 2.8 pg = 2.8 x 10-12 grams. One base pair (AT or GC) = (660 grams/mole)/(6 x 1023 molecules/mole) = 1.1 x 10-21 grams/base pair. Thus, the DNA content of humans is equivalent to (2.8 x 10-12 grams)/(1.1 x 10-21 grams/base pair) = 2.6 x 109 base pairs.