Polyploidy: Failure of Cytokinesis — NEET Biology
✅ Asked in NEET 2016Failure of segregation of chromatids during cell division cycle results in the gain or loss of a chromosome(s), called aneuploidy. For example, Down's syndrome results in the gain of extra copy of chromosome 21. Similarly, Turner's syndrome results due to loss of an X chromosome in human females. Failure of cytokinesis after telophase stage of cell division results in an increase in a whole set of chromosomes in an organism and, this phenomenon is known as polyploidy. This condition is often seen in plants.
Polyploidy occurs when cytokinesis fails after telophase, resulting in an organism with multiple complete sets of chromosomes (3n, 4n, etc.), unlike aneuploidy which involves loss or gain of individual chromosomes. Students often confuse polyploidy with aneuploidy—remember that polyploidy affects entire chromosome sets while aneuploidy affects single chromosomes. The key distinction is the cause: cytokinesis failure creates polyploidy; chromatid segregation failure creates aneuploidy. Since polyploidy is common in plants and has clinical significance, NTA tests this concept to ensure students differentiate between chromosomal abnormalities and understand the consequences of cell division failures.
A cell at telophase stage is observed by a student in a plant brought from the field. The teacher tells him that this cell is not like typical telophase cells. There is no formation of cell plate, and the cell contains more chromosomes than usual. What does this indicate? (NEET 2016)
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