AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Down syndrome is usually caused by an error in cell division called “nondisjunction.” Nondisjunction results in an embryo with three copies of chromosome 21 instead of the usual two. Prior to or at conception, a pair of 21st chromosomes in either the sperm or the egg fails to separate.

Detailed explanation-2: -Trisomy 21 or Down syndrome (DS) is one of the most common chromosomal abnormalities. The majority of full trisomy 21 is caused by chromosomal nondisjunction occurring during maternal meiotic division (∼90%). Errors occur more frequently in the first maternal meiotic division than the second (73% vs.

Detailed explanation-3: -Nondisjunction. Nondisjunction is the failure of homologous chromosomes (chromatids) to separate properly during meiotic cell division.

Detailed explanation-4: -Patients with Down syndrome have an extra copy of their 21st chromosome. This extra chromosome is usually acquired before fertilization in meiosis, which is the process where sperm and egg cells, or gametes, are made. In meiosis, a cell divides to produce gametes containing 23 chromosomes.

Detailed explanation-5: -DS results from nondisjunction (NDJ) of chromosome 21 during either of the two stages of meiosis, meiosis I (MI) or meiosis II (MII), or after the first few divisions (mitosis) of the embryo.