Division and Differentiation Flashcards
What is a somatic cell?
Any body cell not involved in reproduction
Name the process by which somatic cells divide
mitosis
What is produced when germline cells divide by mitosis?
Diploid germline stem cells
What is produced when germline cells divide by meiosis?
Haploid gametes
Describe the 2 divisions of meiosis
Division 1—homologous (matching) chromosomes split
Division 2— chromatids separate
The number of chromosomes in a diploid cell
46
The number of chromosomes in a haploid cell
23
Name the process by which certain genes are expressed to produce the proteins characteristic of
Cellular Differentiation
Why is cellular differentiation important?
To allow the cell to be able to carry out specialised functions
What are stem cells?
Unspecialised somatic cells which can self-renew or differentiate
Name the two types of stem cell
Embryonic and Tissue
Which type of cells can be described as pluripotent
Embryonic
Which type of stem cell can be described as multipotent?
Tissue
Describe what is meant by ‘multipotent’
A cell that can differentiate to make the cell types of the particular tissue in which they are found
What is meant by ‘pluripotent’?
A cell that can differentiate to
make all cell types
State the 3 functions of tissue stem cells?
Growth, repair and renewal
Give examples of how stem cells can
be used to repair damaged or dis-
eased organs or tissues
Corneal repair or regeneration of
damaged skin
Which type of stem cells can
self-renew under the right
conditions in a lab?
Embryonic
How can stem cells be used as model
cells?
To research how diseases
develop or they can be used for
drug testing
Give an example of an ethical issue
that could be raised against the use
of stem cell research
Use of stem cells involves the
destruction of embryos
Why do cancer cells divide
excessively?
They fail to respond to regulatory
signals
Give the name for a mass of
abnormal cells
A tumour
Why might cancer cells spread
throughout the body?
Cells within the tumour fail to
attach to each other
What can form when cells in a
tumour fail to attach to each other?
A secondary tumour
Define Cellular Differentiation
When a cell becomes specialised by expressing certain genes to produce protein characteristics
