Sister chromatids fail to separate during meiosis II. What fraction of the resulting gametes is normal?
ANone of the four
BOne of the four
CTwo of the four
DThree of the four
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: C. Two of the four
1. Meiosis I has already separated the homologues correctly, so both daughter cells start out normal.
2. The error happens later, when sister chromatids fail to separate in one of those two cells.
3. That affected cell produces one gamete with two copies and one gamete with none.
4. The unaffected cell divides normally and produces two gametes with one copy each.
5. Counting the four gametes gives one with two copies, one with none, and two normal.
6. Two out of four normal is one half.
7. A meiosis I failure, by contrast, leaves no normal gametes at all.
_Source: OpenStax Biology (1st ed., CC BY 4.0), Ch 13 "Modern Understandings of Inheritance", section 13.2 Chromosomal Basis of Inherited Disorders_
Keep practising Modern Understandings of Inheritance
Browse all Modern Understandings of Inheritance questions for NCEA Level 2, or explore more Biology topics.
Related questions
Drag chromosome faults into three groupsPick the pair that recombines moreSort chromosome errors into two ringsWhich code describes position 12 on the long arm of chromosome 13?Which chromosome carries a pericentric inversion thought to have contributed to human evolWhat distinguishes a pericentric inversion from a paracentric one?In a person carrying several X chromosomes, how many remain active in each cell?Which genotype corresponds to Klinefelter syndrome?