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34 Terms
Q: What is cell potency?
A: A cell’s capacity to generate different specialised cell types.
totipotent cells
Totipotent: Can form all parts of the organism
pluripotent
Restricted but can still form several cell types
terminally differentiated cells
Fixed, single specialised type.
Q: How many cells does the human body have compared to the zygote?
A: Zygote = 1 cell. Adult = ~10¹⁴ cells.
Q: What is differentiation?
A: The creation of specialised cell types from the totipotent zygote.
Q: What is morphogenesis?
A: The generation of shape, pattern, and form.
Q: Until when are mammalian blastomeres totipotent?
A: Up to the early blastocyst stage (~8-cell stage).
monoblastic organisms
Monoblastic: One blast cell layer (e.g., sponges).
Diploblastic
Diploblastic: Two layers (ectoderm/endoderm).
triploblastic organisms
Triploblastic: Three layers (ecto/meso/endoderm).
Q: What is gastrulation?
A: Cell movements forming the three germ layers: ectoderm, mesoderm, endoderm.
Q: What are Hox genes?
A: Homeotic genes encoding transcription factors that specify regional identity.
Q: What is the significance of Hox gene expansion in evolution?
A: Helped establish complex body plans and contributed to the Cambrian explosion.
Q: Why are plants good experimental systems?
A: No ethical issues, genomes known, totipotency, easy gene introduction.
Q: What is somatic embryogenesis?
A: Regeneration of whole plants from single somatic cells.
Q: What is Agrobacterium tumefaciens?
A: A soil bacterium that naturally transfers DNA (T-DNA) into plant cells.
Q: What is T-DNA?
A: A region of the Ti plasmid transferred into the plant genome.
Q: How does Agrobacterium cause tumours?
A: T-DNA genes encode auxin + cytokinin synthesis enzymes → abnormal cell division.
Q: How do scientists use Agrobacterium for transformation?
A: Remove tumour genes → insert foreign gene + selectable marker.
Q: What is a selectable marker?
A: A gene (e.g., antibiotic resistance) that allows identification of transformed cells.
Q: What is the biolistic ("gene gun") method?
A: DNA-coated metal particles are shot into plant tissue.
Q: Why is regeneration difficult in some crops?
A: Many species are hard to regenerate from cultured tissue.
Q: What processes contribute to plant complexity?
A: Metabolism, development, environmental responses.
Q: What is gene expression?
A: The process of transcribing DNA to mRNA and translating mRNA into protein.
Q: Do plant cells differ in genetic information?
A: No, they all contain the same DNA.
Q: What causes cell-type differences?
A: Differential gene expression.
Q: What are constitutive genes?
A: Genes expressed in all cells all the time.
Q: What types of gene regulation exist?
A: Spatial, temporal, and environmental.
Q: How can mRNA abundance be measured?
A: Transcriptome sequencing → cDNA → sequencing → computational analysis.
Q: What is a reporter gene?
A: A visibly assayable gene not normally expressed in plants (e.g., GUS).
Q: How does a promoter-reporter fusion work?
A: Plant promoter drives reporter gene → pattern shows promoter activity.
Q: What does the CAB promoter control?
A: Light-induced, chlorophyll-binding protein expression in leaf cells.
Q: What kinds of genes respond to stress?
A: Drought-, cold-, pathogen-, and touch-inducible genes.
Note 
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