Chromosomes are composed of DNA and:

Question

Question

This question was previously asked in

CDS General Knowledge 3 Sep 2023 Official Paper

Answer 1

The correct answer is proteins.

Key Points

In the nucleus of each cell, DNA molecules are packaged into thread-like structures called chromosomes. Each chromosome is made up of DNA tightly coiled around proteins called histones that support its structure.
Chromosomes are highly condensed forms of chromatin threads.
- Chromosomes were first observed in pollen mother cells of Tradescantia by Hofmeister and Carl Naegeli.
- The credit for the discovery of chromosomes goes to Strasburger as he was the first to describe the chromosome structure seen in the nucleus during cell division.
- Typically, chromosomes are rod-shaped, elongated, or point-shaped ranging in size from 0.5 to 32 micrometers.

Additional Information

In humans, each cell normally has 23 pairs of chromosomes, a total of 46.
- Twenty-two of these pairs, called autosomes, look the same in both men and women.
- The 23rd pair, the sex chromosomes, differ between males and females.
- Females have two copies of the X chromosome, while males have one X and one Y chromosome.