What is Cell Differentiation?
Cell differentiation is a process in which a generic cell develops into a specific type of cell in response to specific triggers from the body or the cell itself. This is the process which allows a single celled zygote to develop into a multicellular adult organism which can contain hundreds of different types of cells. In addition to being critical to embryonic development, cell differentiation also plays a role in the function of many organisms, especially complex mammals, throughout their lives. When a single cell has the capability of developing into any kind of cell, it is known as totipotent. In mammals, the zygote and the embryo during early stages of development are totipotent, for example. Cells which can differentiate into several different cell types, but not all, are considered to be pluripotent. In both cases, the nucleus is the same, containing all of the genetic information needed to encode the entire organism, but only certain genes are activated. When an embryo develop
At the beginning of a new life, DNA from a spermatozoon ( sperm cell ) enters an oocyte ( egg cell ). This results in a single zygote, a cell which will eventually divide through mitosis to form every single cell of every tissue in the body. The DNA of each cell will be the same, and yet the function, form, size and shape will vary massively depending upon the tissue the cell finds itself within. In order to permit this one cell to produce so many different cell-types the process termed differentiation is used. In short, cell differentiation is the way in which cells become different more specialised types of cell.
