Cell Differentiation and Specialisation Flashcards

Flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts related to cell differentiation, specialisation, and multicellular organisation.

Multicellular Organisms

Cells are specialised to perform specific functions required by the organism, carried out at cellular, tissue, organ, and organ system levels.

Unicellular Organisms

Single cell carries out all the functions to sustain life, with functions carried out by different organelles within the cell.

Advantages of Multicellular Life

Longer lifespans, genetic diversity through sexual reproduction, less vulnerable to environmental changes, larger size, and increased mobility.

Disadvantages of Multicellular Life

More energy required for survival and reproduction, cells are dependent on the organism, and slower evolution rates.

Specialised Cells

Cells that have graduated into a specific role with unique structural adaptations to carry out specific functions.

Tissues

Groups of cells that are the same, grouping together to form a working unit.

Four Basic Types of Tissue

Connective, epithelial, muscle, and nervous.

Connective Tissue

Supports other tissues and binds them together (e.g., bone, blood).

Epithelial Tissue

Provides a covering (e.g., skin, linings of passages).

Muscle Tissue

Includes striated muscles that move the skeleton, and smooth muscle.

Nervous Tissue

Made up of nerve cells (neurons) and is used to carry messages.

Organs

Consist of 2 or more tissues will working together and form a working organ that carries out one of more specific task/function

Systems

Organs form organ systems where they work together to perform a task.

Stem Cells

Cells that are undifferentiated and can change into other cell types.

Plant Meristems

Centers of mitotic cell division in plants, composed of undifferentiated self-renewing stem cells.

Self-Renewal (Stem Cells)

Continuously divide and replicate.

Potency (Stem Cells)

Capacity to differentiate into specialised cell types.

Totipotent

Can form any cell type, as well as extra-embryonic tissue (e.g., zygote).

Pluripotent

Can form any cell type (e.g., embryonic stem cells) but cannot develop into a whole organism.

Multipotent

Can differentiate into a number of closely related cell types (e.g., adult stem cells).

Unipotent

Cannot differentiate, but capable of continuous division and self-renewal (e.g., progenitor cells).

Blastocyst

Early stage embryo consisting of a single layer of surface cells and an inner cell mass.

Three Primary Germ Layers

Ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm.

Gene Expression

Process in which the information stored in genes is used to build the different structures in a cell.

Stem Cells

An unspecialised cell source from which all other cell types may be derived

Potency

Number of different types of cells a stem cell can give rise to.