Principles of Inheritance and Variation Question 61
61. Nicotiana sylvestris flowers only during long days and $N$. tabacum flowers only during short days. If raised in the laboratory under different photoperiods, they can be induced to flower at the same time and can be cross fertilized to produce self - fertile offspring. What is the best reason for considering $N$. sylvestris and $N$. tabacum to be separate species?
[2003]
(a) They are morphologically distinct
(b) They cannot interbreed in nature
(c) They are reproductively distinct
(d) They are physiologically distinct
Show Answer
Answer : c
Hints & Solution
(c) Similar species show interbreeding characters, i.e., two organisms which breed freely in nature to produce fertile offspring belong to the same species. The two species are considered separate because they are reproductively distinct.
