A human male working in a government chemical testing lab is not able to produce

Question

A human male working in a government chemical testing lab is not able to produce viable sperm. His doctor suspects one of the chemicals he is exposed to is limiting his gamete development. The doctor examines the gametes resulting from meiosis and discovers all resulting cells maintain their chromosomes in tetrads. What chromosome number is the doctor seeing and what is the total chromatid number found. Considering the nuclear membrane has dissolved and the chromosomes are not found at the metaphase plate; propose a mechanism by which the chemical is disrupting meiosis.

Explanation / Answer

First off. a tetrad is a paired set of homologous chromosomes.This indicates that the chromosomes in the cell have duplicated.The dissolved nuclear membrane also indicates that the cell hasmade it to at least prophase I. This cluster of four chromatids isfound in prophase I of meiosis. These tetrads should now move tothe metaphase plate as directed by microtubules. Since the tetradsare formed but not at the metaphase plate I would infer that thechemical being used in the lab is affecting the microtubules whichprevents lining up on the metaphase plate and the separation of thehomologous chromosome pairs. The worker should pay better attention to the next OHStraining and wear the proper PPE when working with chemicals.

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