HELIXPrep › Plant, Animal and Microbial Biotechnology › Animals
Module 5.2 · Topic 5
Module 5.2 · Topic 5
Cells that haven't decided what to become yet
In plants, many fully differentiated cells retained something close to totipotency — the right growth regulator balance could push them straight back toward forming an entire organism. In animals, that capacity narrows dramatically, and fast, within the first few divisions after fertilisation.
Unlike many plant cells, most animal cells lose the capacity to form an entire organism within days of fertilisation. Does this mean an already-differentiated adult animal cell can never be pushed backward toward a less specialised state?
A pluripotent stem cell, compared to a totipotent one, is distinguished by:
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