What are the maternal and paternal chromosomes

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Detailed Solution

Maternal chromosomes come from the mother’s egg, paternal chromosomes come from the father’s sperm, and together they form homologous pairs that carry genes for the same traits.

Basics

Humans have 46 chromosomes in somatic cells, arranged as 23 pairs.
Each pair includes one maternal and one paternal chromosome (homologs).
Pairs 1–22 are autosomes; the 23rd pair are sex chromosomes (XX or XY).

Why it Matters

Homologs carry the same gene loci but may have different alleles.
During meiosis, maternal and paternal homologs recombine, creating genetic diversity.
Imprinting and parent-of-origin effects mean some genes are expressed differently depending on whether they are maternal or paternal.

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