hexaploidy

genetics

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June 29, 2026

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Hexaploidy is a genetic condition where a cell or organism has six sets of chromosomes, meaning it has six times the monoploid (or basic) chromosome number. This is a form of polyploidy, which refers to having three or more times the haploid chromosome number.12

Polyploidy is common in plants and has been a significant driver of speciation, particularly in flowering plants. While polyploidy can lead to sterility in animals due to disruptions in sex chromosome balance, it can confer fertility to sterile hybrids in plants. For example, bread wheat is a hexaploid that arose through natural hybridization and chromosome doubling. Many cultivated plants, such as bananas (triploid) and potatoes (tetraploid), are polyploids.345

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Poaceae
Economic and ecological importance
…fusion of diploid gametes); and hexaploid (2n = 21). An example of a domesticated diploid wheat is einkorn wheat (Triticum monococcum), one of the earliest domesticated wheat species. Hybridization of a diploid wheat with Aegilops speltoides (a closely allied species of grass), followed by doubling of the chromosome complement, produced…
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…fusion of diploid gametes); and hexaploid (2n = 21). An example of a domesticated diploid wheat is einkorn wheat (Triticum monococcum), one of the earliest domesticated wheat species. Hybridization of a diploid wheat with Aegilops speltoides (a closely allied species of grass), followed by doubling of the chromosome complement, produced…
Read More