Molecular melodies in high and low C

For 50 years now, one of the enigmas of molecular evolution has been the C- value paradox, which refers to the often massive, counterintuitive and seem ingly arbitrary differences in genome size observed among eukaryotic organi sms. For example, the genome of the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster is 180 megabases (Mb), whereas that of the European brown grasshopper Podisma ped estris is 18,000 Mb. The difference in genome size of a factor of 100 is di fficult to explain in View of the apparently similar levels of evolutionary , developmental and behavioural complexity of these organisms.