Cultivated American cotton plants have a total of 52 chromosomes (2n = 52). In each cell, there are 13 pairs of large chromosomes and 13 pairs of smaller chromosomes. Old World cotton plants have 26 chromosomes (2n = 26), all large. Wild American cotton plants have 26 chromosomes, all small. Propose a testable hypothesis to explain how cultivated American cotton probably originated.

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1. Identify the chromosome counts and types in each variety of cotton: Cultivated American cotton has 52 chromosomes (26 large and 26 small), Old World cotton has 26 large chromosomes, and Wild American cotton has 26 small chromosomes.
2. Consider the concept of hybridization, where two different species interbreed to produce a hybrid that combines traits from both parent species.
3. Formulate a hypothesis that cultivated American cotton (2n = 52) may have originated from a hybridization event between Old World cotton (2n = 26, all large chromosomes) and Wild American cotton (2n = 26, all small chromosomes).
4. Propose that the hybridization led to a doubling of the chromosome number (allopolyploidy), resulting in a stable new species with 52 chromosomes, inheriting 13 large chromosome pairs from Old World cotton and 13 small chromosome pairs from Wild American cotton.
5. Suggest experiments to test this hypothesis, such as genetic analysis to compare DNA sequences among the three cotton types or breeding experiments to attempt to recreate the hybridization event.