Question

How many chromosomes do diploid cells have?

Answer 1

The genetic material of humans- DNA, is packed into thread-like structures called chromosomes. They are located inside the nucleus of cells and carry genetic information about the organisms.

Complete answer:
The cells that have two sets of chromosomes paired together to form homologous chromosomes are called Diploid cells. All the cells of the body except the germ cells or the sex cells are diploid in nature. They are formed by the process of- Mitosis or equational division, which results in the formation of two daughter cells that are exact copies of each other. The two sets of chromosomes are inherited from each parent.
Chromosomes are thread-like structures made up of DNA and proteins and are present inside the- nucleus of a cell. They carry genetic information from one generation to another. They also play an important role in heredity and variation, mutation, cell division, etc. DNA is a molecule that contains two polynucleotide chains that run anti-parallel to each other and contains the genetic code of an organism. A sequence of nucleotides on DNA forms a gene- the functional unit of heredity and inheritance. The negatively charged DNA coils around eight positively charged histone proteins to form a nucleosome. The strand of nucleosomes folds up to form chromatin fiber. Chromatin fibers are tightly packed to form chromosomes.

The number of chromosomes in a diploid cell differs from one organism to another. Humans are diploid organisms that have 46 chromosomes in each cell. These chromosomes are paired into 23 pairs of homologous chromosomes that are identical to each other in shape and size and are called homologues of each other. The human gametes are haploid and contain only 23 chromosomes. 22 pairs of chromosomes in a human body are autosomes, while one pair of autosomes are found. During sexual reproduction, the male and female gametes combine to form the diploid zygote. Thus, in a pair of a homologous chromosome, one copy comes from the paternal side and the other from the maternal side.

The Diploid cells in eukaryotes are present in the somatic cells. Somatic cells are the vegetative cells or any cell other than the reproductive sex cell. They are responsible for the development of various organs and internal structures in our body.

Note: The number of a complete set of chromosomes in the nucleus of a cell is called the- ploidy of an organism. They also provide the number of possible alleles for genes. The ploidy is diploid when the chromosomes are paired together and haploid- when the chromosomes are not paired. When an organism has more than 2 sets of paired chromosomes, it is termed Polyploidy.