Question

What is totipotency? Give example.

Answer 1

Totipotency:

1. Totipotency is defined as having the ability to develop into any of its cells or tissues or to become a complete creature.
2. It is necessary to be able to both generate all of the body's cells and arrange them in a certain temporal and spatial sequence, or to go through a coordinated process of development, in order to produce a mature organism.
3. The ability of an isolated cell to develop into a fertile adult is proof of totipotency in this sense.
4. As a result, a totipotent cell is also a one-cell embryo, meaning it is able to produce a developmentally coordinated sequence at the global level.
5. E.g. zygotes, spores, etc.