Developmental Biology: Cell Specification Types and Maturation Mapping

Differentiation

The process for establishing terminal cellular identity.

Commitment

The stage where cells become dedicated to a specific lineage.

Specification

The ability of cells to replicate autonomously in a neutral environment but can still be altered if stimulus is provided.

Determination

Cells maintain identity in any environment or stimulus.

Autonomous Specification

Influenced by cytoplasmic determinants in the cells, likely transcription factors.

Conditional Specification

Cell fates can be altered to suit their conditions through juxtacrine factors and cell-to-cell contacts.

Syncytial Specification

Cellular identity is established without membranes across the anterior-posterior axis, with many nuclei in the cytoplasm.

Lineage tracing

A method to monitor cytoplasmic determinants to track what factors control specific aspects of development.

Fate Mapping

A technique used to determine the fate of cells during development.

Driesch Postulates

The prospective potency of an isolated blastomere is great that its prospective fate depends on cell interaction.

Brainbow System

A system used to visualize the diversity of neuronal connections across species.

Cellularization

The process by which individual cells form from a syncytium.

Transcriptome

The complete set of RNA transcripts produced by the genome at any one time.

Developmental trees

Diagrams that show changes in gene expression through differentiation.

Positional determinants

Factors that influence cell fate based on their position within the embryo.

Gradients of information

Variations in the concentration of signaling molecules that guide cellular differentiation.

Nuclei separated by microtubules

A characteristic of syncytial specification where nuclei are distinct but share cytoplasm.

Single-cell omic-level techniques

Advanced methods that provide insights into specification by examining gene expression and biochemical changes.