Question

C-value paradox is

• A. Diploid DNA content
• B. Haploid DNA content
• C. Variation of C-value
• D. Constancy of C-value

Answer 1

The correct option is C Variation of C-value

The haploid DNA content of a cell is called C-value; this makes option A and B wrong. The C-value paradox is concerned with the presence of excessive amounts of DNA in eukaryotic cells and the difference of C-value between eukaryotic species having similar complexity; option D is incorrect and C is correct. It is explained on the basis of a large amount of structural DNA and junk DNA in chromosomes. For example, human genome has around 21,000 genes in its 3.3 billion base pairs in haploid genome while Caenorhabditis elegans, a nematode that normally lives in soil, has around 19–20,000 protein-encoding genes in its around 100 million base pairs of DNA. The correct option is C.