Question

Suppose you heard through various media of an animal alleged to be the hybrid of a rabbit and a cat. If the cat (Felis domesticus) has a diploid chromosome number of 30 and a rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) has a diploid chromosome number of 46, what would be the expected chromosome number in the somatic tissues of this alleged hybrid?

Answer 1

38 chromosomes

Step-by-step explanation:

• A cat has a diploid chromosome number of 30 (2n=30).
• A rabbit has a diploid chromosome number of 46 (2n=46).

Meiosis generates gametes that contain half the number of chromosomes of somatic cells. Therefore:

• Cat's gametes will be haploid and have 15 chromosomes (n=15).
• Rabbit's gametes will be haploid and have 23 chromosomes (n=23).

An hybrid between a cat and a rabbit would be formed from the union of a cat gamete (n=15) and a rabbit gamete (n=23) that creates a zygote that has 15+23=38 chromosomes. When the zygote divides mitotically, all its somatic cells will contain 38 chromosomes.