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In cellular biology, a somatic cell (from Ancient Greek σῶμα (sôma) ' body '), or vegetal cell, is any biological cell forming the body of a multicellular organism other than a gamete, germ cell, gametocyte or undifferentiated stem cell. [1] Somatic cells compose the body of an organism and divide through mitosis.
In cellular biology, the term somatic is derived from the French somatique which comes from Ancient Greek σωματικός (sōmatikós, “bodily”), and σῶμα (sôma, “body”.) [1] [2] is often used to refer to the cells of the body, in contrast to the reproductive cells, which usually give rise to the egg or sperm (or other gametes in other organisms).
Such cells, called somatic cells, make up most of the human body, such as skin and muscle cells. Cells differentiate to specialize for different functions. [8] Germ line cells are any line of cells that give rise to gametes—eggs and sperm—and thus are continuous through the generations. Stem cells, on the other hand, have the ability to ...
Adult stem cells are undifferentiated cells, found throughout the body after development, that multiply by cell division to replenish dying cells and regenerate damaged tissues. Also known as somatic stem cells (from Greek σωματικóς, meaning of the body), they can be found in juvenile, adult animals, and humans, unlike embryonic stem ...
Somatic embryogenesis is an artificial process in which a plant or embryo is derived from a single somatic cell. [1] Somatic embryos are formed from plant cells that are not normally involved in the development of embryos, i.e. ordinary plant tissue. No endosperm or seed coat is formed around a somatic embryo. Cells derived from competent ...
The basic number of chromosomes in the somatic cells of an individual or a species is called the somatic number and is designated 2n. In the germ-line (the sex cells) the chromosome number is n (humans: n = 23). [4] [5] p28 Thus, in humans 2n = 46. So, in normal diploid organisms, autosomal chromosomes are present in two copies.
In addition, stem cell are undifferentiated cells which can develop into a specialized cell and are the earliest type of cell in a cell lineage. [2] Due to the differentiation in function, somatic cells are found only in multicellular organisms, as in unicellular ones the purposes of somatic and germ cells are consolidated in one cell.
Such transport of molecules towards and away from the soma maintains critical cell functions. In case of neurons, the soma receives a large number of inhibitory synapses, [6] which can regulate the activity of these cells. It has also been shown that microglial processes constantly monitor neuronal functions through somatic junctions, and exert ...