Euploidy vs. Aneuploidy

Main Difference

The main difference between Euploidy and Aneuploidy is that Euploidy is known as the increase in chromosomal set numbers in the genome, whereas Aneuploidy is known as the change occurs in the number of a specific chromosome present in a set.

Difference Between Euploidy and Aneuploidy

Comparison Chart

Euploidy vs. Aneuploidy

Euploidy is considered as the state which consists of chromosome number that is a precise multiple of an original chromosome number; on the other hand, aneuploidy is considered as the state in which an individual or a few chromosome numbers are deleted or added from the usual number of chromosome. Euploidy contains a high mutation in which the total genetic material rises through sets of chromosomes; on the contrary, aneuploidy contains a relatively small mutation in which the total number of genetic material changes through the change occurs in chromosome number.

The variations that happen in euploidy are tetraploid (4n), triploid (3n), and diploid (2n); on the flip side, the variations happen in aneuploidy are trisomy, nullisome, monosomy, and tetrasomy. Euploidy very rarely takes place in animals, but mostly takes place in plants; at the same time, aneuploidy comparatively takes place in both plants and animals. The euploidy is not occurred in humans, while aneuploidy occurs in humans.

The leading causes which lead to the euploidy are interspecies crosses and complete nondisjunction; in contrast, the primary causes which lead to the occurrence of aneuploidy are mitotic nondisjunction, meiotic nondisjunction, and the chromosome loss. The particular role of euploidy is that it may lead to the production of many new species and organisms; on the other hand, the specific role of aneuploidy is that it leads to the disproportion in the number of gene material. The number of chromosome sets is changed in euploidy, whereas the number of chromosome sets is not changed in aneuploidy.

What is Euploidy?

Euploidy referred to the condition which contains a chromosomal number that is a multiple of an original number of chromosome set. It means that the number of chromosome sets is changed and increased in euploidy.

‘n’ is defined as the somatic chromosome number of a specific organism. The genome of euploidy can be categorized base on the number of chromosome sets such as diploids, monoploids, and polyploids. The Monoploid (n) usually contains an individual set of chromosomes, whereas Diploid (n) contains typically binary sets of chromosomes. The Polyploids contain three or more than two chromosome sets, which could be tetraploid (4n), triploid (3n), pentaploid (5n), hexaploid (6n), etc. The organism having an odd number of chromosomes are generally known as sterile.

Euploidy primarily takes place in plants. The mechanism that leads directly to the euploidy in which total chromosomes present in a set shifts only to the one daughter cell is called complete nondisjunction. The primary mechanism that happens in euploidy, which is a cross between some distinctive species, is called interspecies crosses.

What is Aneuploidy?

Aneuploidy is referred to as the state in which one or more than one chromosomes are removed or added from the original number of chromosomes. Therefore, in aneuploidy, the chromosome number can be smaller or higher as compared to the wild type of chromosome numbers.

Many types of aneuploidy are known as monosomy, nullisomy, and trisomy. Nullisomy (2n-2) is the condition in which both chromosomes of homologous pairs are lost, and this condition can become lethal in many organisms. Monosomy (2n-1) is the condition in which the loss of one chromosome occurs from the homologous pair.

The genome of humans usually is diploid (2n) having two sex chromosomes and 44 autosomes. The example of monosomy is known as Turner Syndrome (44+XO). Trisomy is the condition which is known as the gain of an additional chromosome (2n+1). The examples of trisomy are Down syndrome and Klinefelter syndrome (44+XXY/XYY).

The primary causes of aneuploidy are mitotic and meiotic nondisjunction. The failure occurs in homologous chromosomes to detached during the meiosis anaphase one, which results in the gametes containing a greater or lesser number of chromosomes. The failure of sister chromatids to detached from each other during mitosis may also give rise to abnormal chromosome numbers in the next daughter cells.

Conclusion

The above discussion concludes that euploidy is the existence of a new number of chromosome sets; in contrast, aneuploidy is the existence of the changing number of chromosomes in the genomic material.