Which of the following cells would have a different genetic composition than the other three in an animal with a diplontic life cycle? a. neuron b. bone c. cell kidney d. cell gamete

D (Cell gamete)

Explanation:

A gamete is a sex cell while the other three cells in the options are somatic or body cells. The bone, kidney and nerve cells are regular types of body cells that do not perform any reproductive function. Hence, they contain two set of chromosomes (diploid) since they replicate through mitosis, which is a kind of cell division that gives rise to daughter cells with identical genetical composition. The animal has a diplontic life cycle, meaning that it is a diploid organism, hence it undergoes mitosis in its somatic cells to produce diploid somatic cells, which has the same genetic composition as the parent cell.

On the other hand, gametes are sex cells that arise from the meiotic division of reproductive cells. Meiosis, in contrary to mitosis, is a type of cell division that produces daughter cells with a reduced number of genetic material (chromosomes). The reproductive cells of a diploid (2n) animal undergoes meiosis to produce haploid (n) gametes (sperm in male, egg in female). These gametes contain half the number of chromosomes as the parent cell, making them genetically different from the parent cell.

These haploid gametes (sperm and egg) fuse together to result into a diploid organism.