Hypotheca of parent diatom forms in daughter

Options

A. Hypotheca
B. Epitheca
C. Is shed
D. Forms the whole frustule.

Answer

To understand how the hypotheca of a parent diatom forms in the daughter cells, we can break down the process into several steps:

### Step-by-Step Solution:

1. **Understanding Diatom Structure**: Diatoms have a unique structure known as a frustule, which is composed of two parts: the epitheca (the upper part) and the hypotheca (the lower part).

2. **Cell Division in Diatoms**: Diatoms reproduce asexually through a process called mitosis, which is an equational division. This means that the genetic material is duplicated and divided equally between the two daughter cells.

3. **Formation of Daughter Cells**: During mitosis, each parental theca (epitheca and hypotheca) is retained by the daughter cells. The epitheca from the parent cell becomes the epitheca of one of the daughter cells.

4. **Hypotheca Formation**: The hypotheca of the parent cell does not remain the same size in the daughter cells. Instead, a new and smaller hypotheca is formed to fit inside the existing parental theca.

5. **Final Arrangement**: As a result, each daughter cell ends up with an epitheca derived from the parent cell and a newly formed smaller hypotheca. This ensures that the daughter cells maintain the characteristic structure of diatoms.

6. **Conclusion**: Therefore, the correct answer to the question is that the hypotheca of the parent diatom forms the epitheca in the daughter cells.