Chromosomes_1

Chromosomes

Structures in the nucleus of cells that carry genetic information.

Autosomes

Chromosomes that are not involved in determining the sex of an individual; humans have 22 pairs.

Homologous chromosomes

Chromosome pairs, one from each parent that are similar in shape and size.

Spectral karyotyping

A technique using fluorescent tags to visualize and distinguish different chromosomes.

Euploidy

A condition where a cell has one or more complete sets of chromosomes.

Aneuploidy

A condition where a cell has an abnormal number of chromosomes, which can involve adding or deleting parts of a chromosome.

Haploid

A cell with half the number of chromosomes; gametes are haploid.

Diploid

A cell with two complete sets of chromosomes, one from each parent.

Aberrant euploidy

An abnormal condition of having more than two complete sets of chromosomes.

Autopolyploid

An organism with more than two sets of chromosomes that are all from the same species.

Allopolyploid

An organism with more than two sets of chromosomes derived from two different species.

Mitosis

A process of cell division that results in two identical daughter cells.

Parthenogenesis

A form of asexual reproduction where growth and development of embryos occurs without fertilization.

Colchicine

A chemical that prevents microtubule formation, often used to induce polyploidy in plants.

Triploid

An organism that has three sets of chromosomes.

Tetraploid

An organism that has four sets of chromosomes.

Octoploid

An organism that has eight sets of chromosomes.

Karyotype

A visual representation of the chromosome pairs in a cell.