Meiosis of a Mule (horse + donkey)

[applegrapekiwiorange]

horse has 2n=64 chromosomes and donkey has 2n=62 chromosomes --> mules have 63 chromosomes. Mules are sterile (unable to mate eachother & produce offspring).

PLEASE draw a sketch to help me see what would happen in meiosis for mule in PAINT and post it up here.

Thank you so much for your help

[JackBean]

Try to align 63 chromosomes into pairs and subsequently divide them to two cells

[jwalin]

put 31 donkey chromosomes and 32 horse chromosomes

create homologous pairs, if any are possible

[jwalin]

and what did you expect????

we draw these diagrams
waste a hell lot of time?




but the guide line is no proper numbers of homologous pairs would be available and the meosis wouold stop.
but do not know exactly at which stage.

[Chroma]

Rare but does happen:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2399773.stm

[Ocotillo50]

A horse + donkey cross does not produce a mule, it produces a hinny.
If you want a mule or a mollie you cross a donkey + horse.

Or if you prefer to look at it this way:

Jack + Mare = Mule or Mollie

Stallion + Jennet = Hinny

Mules and Hinny stallions are always sterile

Mollies and Hinny mares are sterile more often than not, but it has been known for hundreds of years that they occasionally are fertile with a stallion or jack. (The BBC article is no news at all)

With mules, meiosis is blocked at the primary spermatocyte stage (Meiosis I) so there is nothing to really draw a picture of.

[JackBean]

how do you recognize from "horse + donkey cross", what is male and what female?

[Ocotillo50]

The sire is always listed first

Horse + Donkey = Hinny
Donkey + Horse = Mule or Molly

Horse + Zebra = Hebra
Zebra + Horse = Zorse

Donkey + Zebra = Zebret
Zebra + Donkey = Zebronkey

etc..

[JackBean]

Just because you know that, doesn't mean, that the author did know that too.
If I wrote the post, I wouldn't write the male as first (well, in ~50% I would:), just because I don't know such a detail.