So, humans are diploid, with 2 sets of chromosomes, one from each parent. I know how that works from high school biology. But dahlias (and some other things) are octoploid – eight sets of chromosomes! How on earth does that work? Does each parent provide 4 sets? Does the dahlia use the genes on all chromosomes, or are some redundant and not used? Apparently it explains the incredible variety of dahlia blooms, but how? So many things I can’t get my head around…
In: Biology
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