In: Biology
1. When a horse is mated with a donkey a mule is produced. The horse has 19 pairs of chromosomes in each cell; the jack has 33 pairs.
a) How many chromosomes are in each egg of the mare?
b) How many chromosomes are in each sperm of the jack?
c) How many chromosomes are in the cells of the mule?
d) Are the chromosomes of the mule in pairs?
e) Can the mule reproduce?
1.
a) the diploid number of chromosomes in the horse cell is 192= 38 chromosomes.
The egg cell is produced by meiosis of the diploid germline cell.
Meiosis is the reduction division, four haploid gametes are produced by meiosis, so the number of chromosomes in egg cell ( gamete) of a mare is 38/2=19
b) jack has 33 pairs of chromosomes so number of chromosomes in sperm cell ( gamete formed by meiosis) is 33.
c) mule is the progeny of jack and a mare.
so mule has got 19 chromosomes from mare and 33 chromosomes from Jack, so total number of chromosomes in a mule= 19+ 33=52 chromosomes.
d) No, the chromosomes mule inherited from mare is not homologous to chromosomes inherited from the jack.
e) No.
Mule has 52 chromosomes, but chromosomes inherited from mare is not homologous to chromosomes inherited from the jack, so during prophase I of meiosis the homologous chromosomes cannot pair up and exchange genetic material, so chromosomes cannot assort independently so meiosis cannot occur properly.
so mule cannot produce gametes.