Question

Explain why the chromosome number of a species does not indicate number of genes in a species

Answer 1

Organisms with different diploid numbers are unlikely to be able to interbreed (cannot form homologous pairs in zygotes)

In cases where different species do interbreed, offspring are usually infertile (cannot form functional gametes)

For instance, a horse (diploid = 64) and a donkey (diploid = 62) may produce an infertile mule (non-diploid = 63)

Chromosome Number and Hybrid Infertility