Polyploidy is whole genome duplication, where all the chromosomes double. Animals rarely survive major chromosome changes, but plants usually do, leading to aspects of plant genetics that are quite different from animals.
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| strawberry, Fragaria ananassa |
Even though you cannot easily spot a polyploid by looking at it, polyploidy is not obscure. Many common, important plants are polyploid, for example bread wheat (Triticum aestivum), white potatoes (Solanum tuberosum), coffee (Coffea arabica), sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas), strawberries (Fragaria x ananassa) and cotton (Gossypium tomentosum). Researchers estimate that 75% of all plants, and likewise, 75% of crops, are polyploids.