Question

Attempt 2 The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has four pairs of chromosomes, whereas the housefly Musca domestica has six pairs of chromosomes. How many different combinations of chromosomes are possible in the gametes of the fruit fly?

Answer 1

To solve this problem we first need to find the amount of gametes a fruit fly produces in a meiotic division. For this we will use the formula $2^{n}$, where n represents the number of gene pairs. In our case then, $2^{4}$

$2^{4}$ = 2.2.2.2 = 16

So a fly produces 16 different combinations of gametes. If this fly crosses another one, we have a universe of possibilities of combinations given by the multiplication of the male and female gametes. In the case, then, it would be 16 x 16.

16 x 16 = 256