Let's consider meiosis in mosquitoes, which have three pairs of homologous chromosomes (n = 3, 2n = 6). At the conclusion of meiotic cell division, a mosquito can produce how many different gametes with unique sets of chromosomes (excluding crossing over) ?

8

Explanation:

Excluding crossing over, a diploid individual can produce 2^n different gametes, where n is the number of chromosomes in an haploid cell of the species.

In this case, mosquitoes have an haploid number of n=3, so they can produce 2^3 = 8 unique gametes.

For instance, given the homologous chromosomes 1A-1a, 2B-2b and 3C-3c (2n=6), the possible gametes are:

1A, 2B, 3C 1A, 2B, 3c 1A, 2b, 3C 1A, 2b, 3c 1a, 2B, 3C 1a, 2B, 3c 1a, 2b, 3C 1a, 2b, 3c