Which term denotes the total chromosome complement present in a somatic cell, expressed as the diploid number?

Which term denotes the total chromosome complement present in a somatic cell, expressed as the diploid number?

• A. Karyotype
• B. Genome
• C. Chromosome set
• D. Diploid number

Answer: (D)

Diploid number denotes the total chromosome complement present in a somatic cell, expressed as two homologous sets (2n). In diploid organisms, somatic cells carry two copies of every chromosome, one from each parent, so the diploid number indicates how many chromosomes are present overall. For humans, that number is 46. This differs from a karyotype, which is the visual arrangement of chromosomes used to study their number and structure; genome refers to all genetic material; and chromosome set describes the collection of chromosomes but doesn’t by itself specify the numeric count. So the precise term for the total chromosome complement in a somatic cell, expressed as the diploid number, is the diploid number.

Diploid number denotes the total chromosome complement present in a somatic cell, expressed as two homologous sets (2n). In diploid organisms, somatic cells carry two copies of every chromosome, one from each parent, so the diploid number indicates how many chromosomes are present overall. For humans, that number is 46. This differs from a karyotype, which is the visual arrangement of chromosomes used to study their number and structure; genome refers to all genetic material; and chromosome set describes the collection of chromosomes but doesn’t by itself specify the numeric count. So the precise term for the total chromosome complement in a somatic cell, expressed as the diploid number, is the diploid number.