The bladderwort is a remarkable plant. The aquatic flowering plant is carnivores and is successful enough at hunting that it does not grow roots. The bladders, hollow underwater structures with a flexible valve, function as traps. If a small animal comes into contact with the bladderworts bristles the valve opens and the sudden rush of water pulls the prey inside.

As remarkable as the hunting plants are however, even more amazing things are happening within its DNA. According to new research, published in the journal Molecular Biology and Evolution, the plant has more genes than most plants despite having a shorter genome and almost no “junk” DNA.

The researchers, led by University at Buffalo Professor of Biological Sciences Victor Albert, found that the compact structure of bladderwort DNA comes from a history of rampant DNA deletion and even that is just part of the story.

“The story is that we can see that throughout its history, the bladderwort has habitually gained and shed oodles of DNA. With a shrunken genome,” he adds, “we might expect to see what I would call a minimal DNA complement: a plant that has relatively few genes — only the ones needed to make a simple plant. But that’s not what we see,” said Albert in a statement.

The researchers found that Utricularia gibba’s genome holds 80 million base pairs of DNA, six times less than the grape but has 28,500 genes compared to 26,300 for the grape.

The plant was found to be especially rich in genes that facilitate its carnivorous habits, especially those that help it break down meat fibers. Additionally, the genome was found to have a wealth of genes related to the biosynthesis of cell walls which help keep water at bay.

“When you have the kind of rampant DNA deletion that we see in the bladderwort, genes that are less important or redundant are easily lost. The genes that remain — and their functions — are the ones that were able to withstand this deletion pressure, so the selective advantage of having these genes must be pretty high,” said Albert.

“Accordingly, we found a number of genetic enhancements, like the meat-dissolving enzymes, that make Utricularia distinct from other species,” he continued.

Most of the DNA deleted by the plant was found to be so-called junk DNA. While 90 percent of the human genome is non-coding, “junk” DNA the bladderwort contains only three percent. While scientists don’t fully understand junk DNA yet, it’s becoming increasingly clear that it’s not entirely useless, though the bladderwort appears to disagree.

In order to determine how the bladderwort evolved its unusual genetic structure, researchers compared four related species and found a history of rapid genetic change.

“When you look at the bladderwort’s history, it’s shedding genes all the time, but it’s also gaining them at an appreciable enough rate, permitting it to stay alive and produce appropriate adaptations for its unique environmental niche,” said Albert.

According to the researchers, U.gibba has gone through three duplication events in which the entire genome was replicated. This provided the plant with redundant copies of every gene. The rapid gain was answered with a method of rapid deletion.

The plant, in short, appears to survive by evolving faster and more efficiently than other species.