In flowering plants, double fertilization and triple fusion is a unique phenomenon. For a given plant, during the study of the endosperm, it was found that it has 24 chromosomes. What will the number of chromosomes in microspore mother cells be?

Options

A. 12
B. 48
C. 16
D. 24

Answer

To solve the problem, we need to understand the concepts of double fertilization, triple fusion, and the relationship between the chromosome numbers in different stages of plant reproduction.

### Step-by-Step Solution:

1. **Understanding Endosperm Formation**:
- In flowering plants, double fertilization occurs when one male gamete fertilizes the egg cell (forming the zygote) and another male gamete fuses with two polar nuclei (forming the triploid endosperm).
- The endosperm is triploid (3N) because it results from the fusion of one sperm cell with two polar nuclei.

2. **Given Information**:
- It is given that the endosperm has 24 chromosomes.
- Since the endosperm is triploid (3N), we can express this as:
\[ 3N = 24 \]

3. **Calculating the Haploid Number (N)**:
- To find the haploid number (N), we divide the total number of chromosomes in the endosperm by 3:
\[ N = \frac{24}{3} = 8 \]
- This means that each gamete (sperm or egg) has 8 chromosomes.

4. **Determining the Microspore Mother Cell Chromosome Number**:
- The microspore mother cell (which is diploid) produces microspores through meiosis. The chromosome number in the microspore mother cell is represented as 2N.
- Since we found N to be 8, we can calculate the diploid number (2N):
\[ 2N = 2 \times 8 = 16 \]

5. **Conclusion**:
- Therefore, the number of chromosomes in the microspore mother cell is 16.

### Final Answer:
The number of chromosomes in the microspore mother cells is **16**.