The many body cells in an individual can be very different from one
another, even though they are all descended from a single cell and thus
have essentially identical genetic instructions. Different parts of the
instructions are used in different types of cells, influenced by the cell's
environment and past history.
| NSES Content Standard C
Life Science: The cell Grades 9-12, page 184 Cells can differentiate, and complex multicellular organisms are formed as a highly organized arrangement of differentiated cells. In the development of these multicellular organisms, the progeny from a single cell form an embryo in which the cells multiply and differentiate to form the many specialized cells, tissues and organs that comprise the final organism. This differentiation is regulated through the expression of different genes. |