Final answer:
After meiosis, the cells of Drosophila melanogaster contain 4 chromosomes, which is half the number found in somatic cells. Similarly, for any typical organism with 32 chromosomes in somatic cells, gametes would have 16 chromosomes.
Step-by-step explanation:
The somatic cell of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has 8 chromosomes. Following meiosis, the number of chromosomes is halved in the resulting gametes. Hence, after meiosis, cells contain 4 chromosomes. This reduction in chromosome number occurs because meiosis consists of two rounds of division without a further round of DNA replication, leading to the production of four haploid cells from an initial diploid cell.
In general, if a muscle cell of a typical organism has 32 chromosomes, a gamete of that same organism would contain 16 chromosomes after meiosis. Diploid cells, which include typical somatic cells like muscle cells, have twice the number of chromosomes as haploid cells, such as gametes. Therefore, the correct options from the references provided are a) 4 chromosomes for the Drosophila question and b) 16 for the typical organism question. An important concept to understand is that gametes always contain half the number of chromosomes as somatic cells because they are haploid (n), compared to the diploid (2n) state of somatic cells.