Some plants have unusual genetics, which can help them weather cataclysmic events

Unlike humans, many plants have more than two sets of chromosomes. This trait may help them adapt to environmental upheaval, such as climate change. SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST: When Earth faces its next cataclysm, some plants appear to have a time-tested strategy to survive. Science reporter Ari Daniel has our story. ARI DANIEL, BYLINE: Most people have two sets of chromosomes, one set from each parent, whereas... YVES VAN DE PEER: Strawberries, for example, they have eight sets of chromosomes. DANIEL: Yves Van de Peer is a plant biologist at Ghent University in Belgium. This phenomenon is called polyploidy, where an organism has more than two sets of chromosomes stuffed into every cell - in other words, a whole genome duplication. And it's pretty common actually, especially in plants. VAN DE PEER: It's a mutational event. You end up basically with a new cell with twice the amount of DNA than the normal plant cell (ph). DANIEL: The plant species may do OK for a while, but this wholesale duplication of the genome is error prone. VAN DE PEER: Usually, there is reduced fertility because you have more chromosomes to deal with, which then is problem for cell division. DANIEL: And that tends to be a problem for survival, leading often ultimately to extinction. And yet, polyploidy is everywhere we look today. What's the deal? VAN DE PEER: The polyploid paradox has kept me puzzling for a long time. DANIEL: Van de Peer and his colleagues decided to try to unravel the riddle. …