Question

How many gametic combinations would be possible if a human individual were heterozygous for 23 genes on 23 different chromosomes?

Answer 1

A human individual heterozygous for 23 genes on 23 different chromosomes can produce over 8 million different gametic combinations, calculated as 2 to the power of 23 (2^23).

Step-by-step explanation:

If a human individual is heterozygous for 23 genes on 23 different chromosomes, the number of possible gametic combinations can be determined by considering the process of independent assortment that occurs during meiosis I. Since humans have 23 chromosome pairs and the orientation of these chromosomes during metaphase I leads to different combinations, we apply the principle that for each of the 23 pairs, there are two possibilities (heterozygous condition). Therefore, to calculate the number of unique gametic combinations, we raise 2 to the power of the number of heterozygous genes, resulting in 223 possible combinations. In this case, that amounts to over 8 million (or precisely 8,388,608) different gametic combinations which a single individual could produce, not accounting for additional genetic variation introduced by mechanisms such as crossing-over.

Answer 2

if a human individual were heterozygous for 23 genes on 23 different chromosomes the following gametic combination is possible:

With respect to chromosome is 1 then, the individual can produce 2 kinds of gametes. With respect to chromosome number 2, also 2 kinds. So, the equation is:

Number of different gametes = 2^n where n is the number of chromosomes. So,

2^23 = 8.4X10^6 different gametes.