Question

Why do agricultural researchers intentionally produce polyploid crop plants? Explain in detail what polyploidy means and discuss different types of polyploid plants. Give four specific detailed examples of actual commercial crops that are polyploid. In each case explain why polyploidy is advantageous. Also, indicate whether the polyploidy occurred naturally or describe how botanists created the new varieties. Why is it more common for polyploidy to occur in plants than in animals? Give examples of types of animals that have been found to exhibit polyploidy.

Answer 1

Ans

Polyploidy is an error in sexual reproduction when there is extra set of chromosomes is found in the plants.

Eg

Domestic oat - 6n

Peanut - 4n

Sugarcane - 8n

White potato - 4n

Tobacco - 4n

Cotton - 4n

Another example is of rhizobium which is legume and nitrogen fixer. If is 128 n due to which it hekps in endoreplication.

Strawberry differ in size from its diploid counter part. 4n strawberry is larger than diploid one .

Polyploidy can occur naturally or can be introduced scientifically.

Polyploidy is useful in plants to increase the productivity as compared to animals.

Some examples of polyploid animals are :

Rats

Fishes

Reptiles

Amphibians

One classical example is of larva ofsome drosophilia which is polyteny.