Year 11 Biology - 3.0

What is a pluripotent cell?

A type of stem cell that an develop into any of the body’s specialised cells

What are the three main kingdoms that multicellular organisms are in?

1. Plantae

2. Fungi

3. Animalia

What is cell differentiation, and why is it important?

The process that makes cells different. It is important, because all cells contain the same chromosomes, but need cell differentiation to perform different functions

Eg. red blood cells carry oxygen, pituitary cells produce hormones, muscle cells contract and relax

What is cell differentiation caused by, and what is this mechanism?

Gene expression. Cells only express the genes that they require to perform their specific function. Other genes in the genome remain ‘silent’ or unexpressed. This allows for highly specialised functions. Gene expression results in phenotypes, which are also influenced by environment or the organism, and occur due to the production of a protein

Can differentiated cells change?

No. Once a cell is differentiated, it will perform its specific function until it dies. However, if the cell becomes cancerous then some of the mutations may result in the cell becoming less differentiated and not functioning properly

What does it mean for a cell to be a progenitor?

It is a specialised cell that is able to become a limited number of cell types within a specific tissue or organ. Eg. Hematopoietic cells can become all types of blood cells

What is the difference between a pluripotent and a progenitor cell?

A pluripotent cell can become any kind of bodily cell. A progenitor cell can also become different kinds of cells, but is limited to a select number, usually cells found in specific tissues or organs

Where are stem cells found in plants?

The meristem, a tissue that holds the stem cells

What is epigenetics?

Study of how the body creates different type of cells from the same genetic code

What are the two types of stem cells, and how do they differ?

Embryonic: pluripotent, can produce any cell in the body, present in embryos

Adult: limited amount of cell types that can be produced, cannot be transferred to new patients

Note: embryonic stem cells can be used in any patient to grow new cells, but to source them, embryos must be destroyed