Question Details

The ability of single cells to divide and produce all differentiated cells in the entity

Options

A

Totipotency

B

Multipotent

C

Pluripotent

D

Unipotent

Correct Answer :

Totipotency

Solution :

The correct option is Totipotency.

In biology, cellular potency refers to a cell's ability to differentiate into other cell types. The higher the potency, the more cell types the cell can become. Let's break down the definitions of the terms provided in the options to understand why Totipotency is the correct answer:

1. Totipotency:
This term comes from the Latin word totipotens, meaning "ability for all things." It describes the ability of a single cell to divide and produce all the differentiated cells in an organism, including extraembryonic tissues (like the placenta in mammals). A classic example of a totipotent cell is a zygote (fertilized egg) and the cells formed during the first few divisions after fertilization.

2. Pluripotency:
Pluripotent stem cells have the ability to differentiate into cells of any of the three germ layers: endoderm, mesoderm, and ectoderm. These cells can give rise to all the cell types that make up the body (e.g., heart, brain, liver cells), but they cannot form extraembryonic tissues such as the placenta. Therefore, they cannot produce an entire, complete organism on their own.

3. Multipotency:
Multipotent stem cells can differentiate into multiple, but limited, cell types within a specific lineage or closely related family of cells. For example, hematopoietic stem cells are multipotent because they can develop into various blood cell types (red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets), but they cannot form nerve cells or muscle cells.

4. Unipotency:
Unipotent cells have the narrowest differentiation potential. A unipotent cell can produce only one cell type, its own, but has the property of self-renewal, which distinguishes it from non-stem cells (e.g., skin stem cells that only produce new skin cells).

Thus, the specific ability of a single cell to divide and generate all differentiated cells, thereby giving rise to a complete new entity, is defined as Totipotency.

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