Group No: ________ Section: ________________

Name: _____________________________ Score: ________________

Problem Set I
Cytogenetics

I. Arrange the following figures chronologically as they appear during the cell cycle.

A B C D

Answer: ___________________________

II. A diploid species has 3 pairs of chromosomes in the somatic cells. In males, the first pair is large
submetacentric; the second is medium acrocentric, and the third is small telocentric. In females,
the first two pairs are like those of the males while the third is large metacentric with satellite.
Illustrate the karyograms of the following:
1. A triploid cell in females

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 2. A tetrasomic cell in males

3. A tetraploid cell in females

Still using the same species given above, illustrate diagrammatically the following stages of cell
division:
1. Anaphase of a dividing primary spermatocyte

2. Anaphase of a secondary oocyte

3. Metaphase of a somatic cell in the female

III. A plant species has a diploid chromosome number of 18. How many chromosomes would be
expected in:
1. A triploid?

2. A trisomic?

3. A double trisomic?

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 4. An autotetraploid?

5. A nullisomic?

IV. In humans, how many:

2. Sex chromosomes are in the egg cells?

3. Autosomes are present in the sperm cells?

4. Chromosomes in a hair strand?

5. Chromosomes in a mature red blood cell?

6. Chromosomes in a liver cell?

7. Sex chromosomes in the first polar body?

8. Eggs are produced by a primary oocyte per division?

9. Sperms will be obtained from 200 spermatids?

10. Spermatids are formed by the last spermatogonium prior to meiosis?

V. The diploid chromosome number of corn is 20. How many:

2. Bivalents are formed during prophase I of meiosis?

3. Sperm nuclei will be formed from a dozen pollen mother cells?

4. Hypothetically, if an endosperm cell becomes a megaspore mother cell, how many

VI. In rye, the haploid number is seven. How many chromosomes would you expect to find in:
1. The tube nucleus?

2. A leaf cell?

3. The endosperm?

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 4. A root tip nucleus?

5. A megaspore mother cell?

6. A nucleus of an aleurone?

VII. If an XO individual is a functional female and she marries a man who is sexually normal but is
trisomic for chromosome 21, enumerate the different possible genotypes and their expected
frequencies among the progeny resulting from this mating.

VIII. The common red fox has 34 chromosomes in its somatic cells, but the Arctic fox has 52. These
can be crossed to yield a hybrid.
1. How many chromosomes would you expect to find in the somatic cells of the hybrid?

2. Assuming that meiosis takes place, how many bivalents are formed during prophase I?

3. Assuming again that meiosis takes place, how many tetrads are present in metaphase II?

4. Why would you expect the hybrid to be sterile?

IX. An organism has a diploid number of 12. Designate these chromosomes as Aa, Bb, Cc, Dd, Ee,
and Ff.
1. How many different chromosomal combinations can appear in the gametes?

2. What is the chance of a gamete getting all capital letters?

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 X. A diploid plant has five pairs of homologous chromosomes, which may be labelled as LL, MM,
NN, OO, and PP. What chromosome complements would you expect to find in somatic cells of
offspring resulting from:
1. Self-fertilization?

2. Self-fertilization but with an egg where non-disjunction of chromosome MM took place?

3. Cross-fertilization of genetically identical strains?

4. How many possible chromosome complements would you expect to find in cross-fertilization
with a pollen grain where non-disjunction of all the chromosomes took place? (Assume that
the gamete is viable if there are at least 2 chromosomes present.)

XI. Chimpanzees have 24 pairs of chromosomes. If the amount of DNA in the egg is presented as c,
what is the amount of DNA in:
1. A cell after meiosis I?

2. A diploid cell that has just divided mitotically?

3. A cell just prior to start of meiosis?

XII. The following diagram depicts three of the four pairs of chromosomes in a hypothetical plant.
Indicate the type of chromosomal aberration present for each pair. (Hint: Use the alphabet as
basis.)

Pair 1 Pair 2 Pair 3

ABCDEFG HIJMLK NOPQRSTXYZ

ABCDCDEFG HIJKLM NOPQRST

________________ ________________ ________________

XIII. In a particular plant, one member of a pair of homologous chromosomes has a knob and the other
does not. A second pair of homologues also shows a difference between the two members: one
bears a terminal satellite and the other member lacks a satellite. Draw the possible kinds of
gametes produced by normal meiosis.

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XIV. What is a Barr body? How is it formed?

How many Barr bodies are found in:

2. A normal female?

3. An XXX metafemale?

4. A Klinefelter individual?

5. A Turner individual?

6. A female with Down syndrome?

7. A person with Jacob’s syndrome?

XV. A couple has a son who is diagnosed with Klinefelter’s syndrome. The man blames the woman
for their son’s condition.
1. How would the man explain his accusation?

2. Explain how an abnormality in the man’s chromosomes might also cause the condition.

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XVI. Explain how phenotypically normal parents can have a child with Cri du chat syndrome.

XVII. A couple gives birth to an extremely mentally and physically retarded child. Upon karyotyping
of the parents, it is discovered that the man is heterozygous for a normal chromosome and a
chromosome carrying a large inversion. The wife has normal chromosomes.
1. What is the likely cause of the phenotypically abnormal child? (Hint: It has something to do
with the pachytene stage.)

2. What advice would you give the parents regarding their subsequent offspring?

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