WHAT IS A CHROMOSOME

[Keith Robison]

bl14 at cornell.edu (Barbara E. Liedl) writes:

>I am curious if any one has a great way to explain the difference between n, 
>x and C and then relate this to the cell cycle.  These terms are used as 
>follows: tomato has 2n=2x=24 chromosomes and a somatic cell has a 
                     ^^^^^^^^
Shouldnt' it be n*x=2C?  Your equation above suggests tomatos are 
dodecaploid (or to use the human example, 2*2<>2*23=46).

Keith Robison
Harvard University
Department of Cellular and Developmental Biology
Department of Genetics / HHMI

krobison at nucleus.harvard.edu