Question

A pistillate flower of a tetraploid angiosperm is pollinated by a pollen grain from a staminate flower of a diploid plant.

What would be the level of the ploidy in the endosperm of seeds thus formed?

Answer 1

Tetraploid pistillate flower (4n)

Pollen from a diploid plant (n)

Endosperm = (4n) + (n) = (5n)

The ploidy level of the endosperm in the seeds

formed is 5n (pentaploid)