The genes controlling the seven pea characters studied by Mendel are now known to be located on how many different chromosomes?
- Six
- Seven
- Five
- Four
Answer
(4) Four
Solution
Garden pea has 2n = 14, i.e. seven pairs of chromosomes.
Later studies showed that the seven genes studied by Mendel lie on only four chromosomes (chromosomes 1, 4, 5 and 7); some of them lie on the same chromosome but so far apart that they assort independently.
∴ The seven characters are controlled by genes on four different chromosomes.
Answer: (4)