In this article we are trying to explain the facts that supports the question Do plants have chromosomes and the number of chromosomes found in different plant species.
Chromosomes are thread like coiled structures that are present inside the nucleus in both plants and animal cells. Chromosomes number varies differently and are named accordingly such as, Aneuploidy, Paleo polyploidy and neo polyploidy. Chromosomes numbers helps in distinguishing the evolutionary relationship among plant species.
Structure of Plant Chromosomes
All plants contain chromosomes as they come under eukaryotes. Essential features of chromosomes in all eukaryotes including plants and animals are Replication, Segregation, gene expression and inheritance. Centromeres are involved in segregation process and are cytologically visible.
Chromosomes are thin structures present in the cell nucleus and contains the hereditary information. Identification of chromosome is an essential feature to understand the genetics of plants. In plants the number of chromosomes usually varies and these are the facts that are unknown to many people. Number of chromosomes or any abnormalities related with them is determined by the process called Karyotyping.
Number of chromosomes in Plants
The chromosome numbers in plants varies greatly ranging from few to more than hundred. Polyploidy has known to be the common evolutionary strategy in plant cells. The number and the length of chromosome does not corelate with the complexity of any living organism.
FAQ’s
How many chromosomes do a Pea Plant have?
Pea plant (Pisum sativum) is of Diploid (2n) ploidy, where n is 7, thus it consists of 14 chromosomes. It was the first experimental plant used for karyotyping. It is available worldwide in different sizes, colors and features and is till being used to study gene mutations and chromosomes features in depth.
A karyotype of pea plant is composed of seven chromosomes, out of which five are acrocentric and two are submetacentric.
How many chromosomes do a Strawberry plant have?
Strawberries (Fragaria×ananassa) is an allo-octoploid (2n=8x=56) seven chromosome sets and eight chromosomes per set, a total of 56 chromosomes. As the genetics of strawberries is so diverse each seed in strawberry contains different genetic material.
It is a hybrid species intentionally cultivated from the cross breeding of distantly related species, Fragaria virginiana from North America and Fragaria chiloensis from South America. DNA extraction from strawberries is quite easy and can be seen clearly as white strands in the pink solution.
How many chromosomes do Bananas have?
Bananas (Musa paradisiaca Linn) have three sets of chromosomes, Triploids and 2n=3x=33 number of chromosomes. Banana hybrids has been vegetatively propagated as diploid, triploid, and tetraploid by cross hybridization techniques.
Wild bananas are diploid with seeds whereas triploid bananas are seedless fruits.
How many chromosomes do Kiwi have?
The basic chromosome number in kiwi (Actinidia deliciosa) is 29. One species of Kiwifruit has been cultivated as hexaploidy with 6X=174 chromosomes. There are more than 60 species of kiwifruit known a majority of kiwifruits are diploid with 2x=58 number of chromosomes.
Kiwi has been known to be a king of fruits because it contains higher amounts of vitamin C and nutrients. New cultivars have been created with strong disease resistance and increased shelf-life with a good taste and color pigment.
How many chromosomes do Potato plant have?
Generally, Potato (Solanum tuberosum) varieties are tetraploid (2n= 4x=48) with 12 chromosomes. They also have been cultivated as Diploid(2n=2x=24) with 24 chromosome number and pentaploid (2n=5x=60) with sixty chromosome numbers. A range of potato have been produced with different color pigments such as Golden wonder potato, almond potato and many more.
Potatoes have been cultivated by selective breeding method in more than two hundred varieties including some unusual potato types including Purple peruvian, Red rose Russian banana, Charlotte and Adirondack blue.
How many chromosomes are there in Guava?
Guava (Psidium guajava) normally contain (2n=22) 22 number of chromosomes which are commercially important. Triploid guavas with 33 number of chromosomes have been cultivated which are seedless and large sized.
How many chromosomes are there in Sugarcane?
Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) is an allopolyploid that contains high chromosome number of 2n=100 to 130 in different types of strains. Sugarcane species contains varying ploidy with a range of 2n=20 to approximately 200 chromosome number.
How many chromosomes does a Mint plant contain?
Mint (Mentha spicata) is a hybrid plant produced by the hybridization of Mentha longifolia and Mentha suaveolens with 48 number of chromosomes (2n=48). The resulted polyploid also acts as allotetraploid.
Around 157 chromosomes have been reported to have worldwide in the genus Mentha.
How many chromosomes does Fern have?
Fern (Ophioglossum reticulatum) is a homosporous fern containing the highest number of chromosomes than plants, animals, or fungus. It is a 96-ploid containing over 1440 chromosome number, which is exceptionally high.
How many chromosomes do plants have?
Chromosomes number in plants varies on genus level from 2n=2x=26 to 2n=16x=208. Differences in chromosomes number implies ploidy and contribute to the evolution.
Variation in number of chromosomes has been found within species itself.
Do all Plants have chromosomes?
Yes, Plants are living organisms and all living things have a genetic material either DNA or RNA to maintain their living system. The length of the chromosomes may vary for instance; In Tulip, which is a flower plant all chromosomes are longer than the entire human genome.
Do all plants have the same number of chromosomes?
No, this is not always true. Each species of plants has a set of chromosomes which is not always the same. Plants contain polyploidy, varieties can be produced in the same species with different ploidy by crossing over techniques.
Can Plants have extra chromosomes?
Plants can have extra chromosomes without having any problems in their genomes, for instance Daylilies are diploids with a chromosome number of 22, its triploid with chromosome number 33 which is an accidental form, resulted after a wrong pollination grows taller than its diploid natural form.
In rose varieties because of interbreeding some triploids regained fertility by producing tetraploids.
Do Plants have X and Y chromosomes?
Yes, the method of sex inheritance and sex chromosomes is almost same in plants, animals and in organisms with only just little modifications.
Why do plants have more chromosomes than animals?
Generally, that is not the case, some plants have more chromosomes than animals while in some other there are less chromosomes than animals possess. Difference in chromosomes is not defined by the complexity of organisms. The number of chromosomes differ among species itself sometimes it occurs naturally but most of the times it is done intentionally.
Plant growers produces different varieties of a single species of plants with different ploidy, for example Diploid and Triploid banana to produce seedless and with seeds fruits. Sugar cane can have more than 100 chromosomes when crossed over with other strains.
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Hey! I am Sneha Sah, I have completed post graduation in Biotechnology. Science has always been fascinating to me and writing is my passion. As an academic writer my aim is to make Science easy and simple to learn and read.
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