Humans are not unique in having diploid cells, although the number of chromosomes per cell varies across organisms. Cats, for instance, have two sets of 19 chromosomes per cell, while fruit flies have two sets of eight chromosomes per cell. Many plants are also diploid, including pineapple, aloe, and Venus flytraps.
However, some plant species are polyploid, with more than two sets of chromosomes per cell. For example, the coffea arabica plant, which produces coffee beans, is tetraploid, with four chromosome copies per cell. And the adder’s tongue fern is 96-ploid, with 96 sets of chromosomes per cell! Each cell in this plant contains a total of 1,400 chromosomes—the highest known to science.
Which of these does NOT have diploid cells?
A
Coffee plants
B
Humans
C
Cats
D
Venus flytraps