Question

Does differentiation occur by the same mechanism in every cell?

Answer 1

Cell differentiation mechanism may not be the same in every cell.

When a cell differentiates (becomes more specialized), it may undertake major changes in its size, shape, metabolic activity, and overall function. all cells contain the same complement of DNA, but each type of cell only “reads” the portions of DNA that are relevant to its own function. In biology, this is referred to as the unique genetic expression of each cell.

In order for a cell to differentiate into its specialized form and function, it reads only and manipulates those genes (and thus those proteins) that will be expressed, and not those that will remain silent.

The primary mechanism by which genes are turned “on” or “off” is through transcription factors. A transcription factor is one of a class of proteins that bind to specific genes on the DNA molecule and either promote or inhibit their transcription .