A diploid organism has a total of 36 chromosomes. Assuming all possible chromosome combinations are viable, if a mutant tetraploid version of this organism was created how many chromosomes would it have? If a mutant version of this organism was monosomic for chromosome 9 how many chomosomes would it have?
A) 144; 35
B) 72; 35
C) 144; 37
D) 72; 37

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

A tetraploid organism has four sets of chromosomes, so it would have 4 times the diploid number, which is 4 * 36 = 144 chromosomes. However, the correct calculation for a tetraploid version of a diploid organism with 36 chromosomes should be 2 * 36 = 72 chromosomes, because tetraploidy doubles the diploid number. A monosomic version of this organism would have one less chromosome than the diploid number, so it would have 36 - 1 = 35 chromosomes.

A Diploid Organism Has a Total of 36 Chromosomes