Question

The sperm of a dog contains 36 chromosomes. How many chromosomes would be found in a liver cell in the adult dog?

18

36

72

92

It is not possible to determine

Answer 1

Answer: 72 chromosomes

Given, "the sperm of a dog contains 36 chromosomes."

Dogs are diploid organisms and reproduce through sexual reproduction. So if the sperm of a dog contains 36 chromosomes then the egg must also contain 36 chromosomes inorder to give birth to a diploid organism after fertilization. The offspring will thus have 36 pairs of chromosomes (i.e, a total of 72 chromosomes). All the cells in a diploid organism, irrespective of their location in the body, are diploid except for the gametes(sperm or egg) which are haploid. Therefore, the liver cells in the adult dog must be diploid i.e, they must contain 72 chromosomes in total(or 36 pairs of chromosomes).