Cell Specialisation
- Humans are made from trillions of cells, but only of about 250 different cell types
- Specialised cells are cells that have a particular structure and composition of sub-cellular structures
- The structural differences between different types of cells enables them to perform specific functions
- This allows organisms to operate more efficiently
- Cells specialise by undergoing a process known as differentiation
- e.g. to develop into a nerve cell the cytoplasm and cell membrane of an undifferentiated cell must elongate to form connections over large distances
- Most animal cells (except stem cells) differentiate at an early stage during development to become specialised
- They then lose their ability to differentiate
- The majority of plant cells never lose the ability to differentiate into specialised cell types
- They retain the ability to fully differentiate throughout the life of a plant
Diagram showing the differentiation of a human cell