A potato has a diploid number of 48.If an egg of this plant has 23 chromosomes, the most likely explanation is that
A) normal meiosis has occurred.
B) nondisjunction occurred during meiosis I.
C) normal mitosis has occurred.
D) nondisjunction occurred during mitosis.
E) crossing over occurred during meiosis I.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

If the diploid number of the potato is 48, then the haploid number is 24. If an egg has 23 chromosomes, it means that it has not received one chromosome during meiosis. This suggests nondisjunction during meiosis I, which could result in the formation of an egg with 23 chromosomes. A normal meiosis or mitosis would result in cells with the same chromosome number as the parent cell. Crossing over during meiosis I does not explain the loss of a chromosome.

A Potato Has a Diploid Number of 48