How many pollen mother cells should undergo meiotic division to produce 64 pollen grains?

Options

A. 64
B. 32
C. 16
D. 8

Explanation

To determine how many pollen mother cells (PMC) need to undergo meiotic division to produce 64 pollen grains, we can follow these steps:

### Step-by-Step Solution:

1. **Understanding the Process**:
- Each pollen mother cell undergoes meiosis, which is a type of cell division that reduces the chromosome number by half.
- This process results in the formation of four haploid microspores from one pollen mother cell.

2. **Calculating the Number of Pollen Grains**:
- Since one pollen mother cell produces four pollen grains, we need to find out how many pollen mother cells are required to produce a total of 64 pollen grains.

3. **Setting Up the Equation**:
- Let \( x \) be the number of pollen mother cells needed.
- The relationship can be expressed as:
\[ 4x = 64 \]
- Here, \( 4x \) represents the total number of pollen grains produced by \( x \) pollen mother cells.

4. **Solving for \( x \)**:
- To find \( x \), we divide both sides of the equation by 4:
\[ x = \frac{64}{4} = 16 \]

5. **Conclusion**:
- Therefore, 16 pollen mother cells need to undergo meiotic division to produce 64 pollen grains.

### Final Answer:
- **16 pollen mother cells** should undergo meiotic division to produce 64 pollen grains.

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