Polyploidy is best described as

Polyploidy is best described as

• A. Missing chromosome
• B. Extra copies of a single chromosome
• C. Organism with extra sets of chromosomes
• D. A mutation in chromosome structure

Answer: (C)

Polyploidy means having more than two complete sets of chromosomes. This means an organism can be triploid (3n), tetraploid (4n), and so on, because whole chromosome sets are duplicated rather than just individual chromosomes. This is different from simply having extra copies of a single chromosome (which is aneuploidy, like trisomy for one chromosome) or from a mutation that changes chromosome structure (deletions, inversions, translocations). It’s also not about missing a chromosome. So an organism with extra sets of chromosomes is the best description of polyploidy.

Polyploidy means having more than two complete sets of chromosomes. This means an organism can be triploid (3n), tetraploid (4n), and so on, because whole chromosome sets are duplicated rather than just individual chromosomes. This is different from simply having extra copies of a single chromosome (which is aneuploidy, like trisomy for one chromosome) or from a mutation that changes chromosome structure (deletions, inversions, translocations). It’s also not about missing a chromosome. So an organism with extra sets of chromosomes is the best description of polyploidy.