Problem: Dr. Ara B. Dopsis has an idea he thinks will be a boon to agriculture. He wants to create the “pomato,” a hybrid between a tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) that has 12 chromosomes and a potato (Solanum tuberosum) that has 48 chromosomes. Dr. Dopsis is hoping that his new pomato will have tuber growth like a potato and the fruit production of a tomato. He joins a haploid gamete from each species to form a hybrid and then induces doubling of chromosome number.Part A. How many chromosomes will be in each tomato gamete?Part B. How many chromosomes will be in each potato gamete?Part C. How many chromosomes will the hybrid have before chromosome doubling?Part D. Will this hybrid be infertile?Part E. How many chromosomes will the polyploid have after chromosome doubling?Part F. Can Dr. Dopsis be sure the polyploid will have the characteristics he wants?

FREE Expert Solution

Tomato: 2n = 12 chromosomes; n = 6 chromosomes

Potato: 2n = 48 chromosomes; n = 24 chromosomes

Fertilization will result in the combination of 6 + 25 chromosomes = 30 chromosomes

If the individual has an even number of chromosome sets, they are usually fertile.

Part A and B. A tomato gamete will have 6 chromosomes while a potato gamete will have 24 chromosomes.