totipotent
totipotent — adjective
- totipotentpositive
- more totipotentcomparative
- most totipotentsuperlative
1. A scientific term for a cell that has the full ability to change into any kind o
A scientific term for a cell that has the full ability to change into any kind of body cell, create supporting tissues such as the placenta, and develop into a whole living organism on its own.
A fertilised egg is totipotent — it creates every organ and tissue in the body.
definitional pattern: [noun] + is + totipotent
Hassan examined totipotent cells from zebrafish embryos to study the earliest stages of life.
The team kept mouse embryo cells totipotent for one extra day in a dish.
Layla drew a diagram of totipotent stem cells forming every organ tissue.
In her thesis project, Sana compared totipotent and pluripotent cells under a high-powered microscope.
- pluripotent
Can form nearly all body cell types but cannot form the placenta or other extra-embryonic tissues; a less powerful state than totipotent
- differentiated
Already committed to a specific cell type with no ability to change into other types
文法句型
be + totipotent
totipotent + noun (cell, stem cell, embryo)
用法筆記
Frequently used in cell biology and embryology. The key distinction to remember is that totipotent cells can form both the embryo itself and the extra-embryonic tissues (like the placenta), whereas pluripotent cells can only form the body cell types.