Somatic cells are any cells forming the body of an organism, as opposed to germline cells. The cell is the structural and functional unit of all known living Organisms It is the smallest unit of an organism that is classified as living and is often called In Biology and Genetics, the germline of a mature or developing individual is the line (sequence of Germ cells that have genetic material that In mammals, germline cells (also known as "gametes") are the spermatozoa and ova which fuse during fertilization to produce a cell called a zygote, from which the entire mammalian embryo develops. Mammals ( class Mammalia) are a class of Vertebrate Animals characterized by the presence of Sweat glands, including sweat glands A gamete (from Ancient Greek γαμέτης; translated gamete = wife gametes = husband is a cell that fuses with another gamete A spermatozoon or spermatozoan ( pl spermatozoa) from the Ancient Greek σπέρμα (seed and ζῷον (living being and more commonly known For soil improvement see Fertilization (soil. For other meanings see Zygote (disambiguation. A zygote (from Greek ζυγωτός zugōtos "joined" or "yoked" An embryo (from Greek:, plural, lit "that which grows" from en- "in" + bryein "to swell be full" is a multicellular Every other cell type in the mammalian body—apart from the sperm and ova, the cells from which they are made (gametocytes) and undifferentiated stem cells—is a somatic cell: internal organs, skin, bones, blood, and connective tissue are all made up of somatic cells. A gametocyte is a Eukaryotic Germ cell that divides by Mitosis into other gametocytes or by Meiosis into Gametids during Stem cells are cells found in most if not all multi-cellular Organisms.

The word "somatic" is derived from the Greek word sōma, meaning "body". Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly

Genetics and chromosome content

A simple definition of a somatic cell is that it is a non-sex cell (a very broad and not always accurate description). In humans, somatic cells contain 46 individual chromosomes, organized into 23 pairs of chromosomes. A chromosome is an organized structure of DNA and Protein that is found in cells. Each pair comprises a chromosome inherited from the father and the mother. Human somatic cells contain twice as many chromosomes as germline cells (sex cells). Germline cells contain only 23 chromosomes. When the germline cells meet during conception, they "fuse" together, creating a zygote. For other meanings see Zygote (disambiguation. A zygote (from Greek ζυγωτός zugōtos "joined" or "yoked" The sex of the child is dependent on the chromosome the germline cells contains (X or Y). Due to the "fusion" of the germline cells, a zygote contains 46 chromosomes (i. e. 23 pairs).

In other species, the situation is more complex. Humans, and other species whose somatic cells contain chromosomes arranged in pairs, are known as "diploid" organisms (their germline cells, which contain only single unpaired chromosomes, are known as "haploid"). "Haplo" redirects here For the fictional character see The Death Gate Cycle. "Haplo" redirects here For the fictional character see The Death Gate Cycle. However, a large number of species arrange the chromosomes in their somatic cells in fours ("tetraploid") or even sixes ("hexaploid") which means that they can have diploid or even triploid germline cells. Polyploidy occurs in cells and Organisms when there are more than two homologous sets of Chromosomes. Polyploidy occurs in cells and Organisms when there are more than two homologous sets of Chromosomes. An example of this is the modern cultivated species of wheat, Triticum Aestivum L. Wheat ( Triticum spp is a worldwide cultivated grass from the Levant area of the Middle East. , a hexaploid species whose somatic cells contain six copies of every chromatid.

Somatic cells and cloning technology

In recent years, the technique of cloning whole organisms has been developed in mammals, allowing almost identical genetic clones of an animal to be produced. Any retention of existing mitrochodrial DNA prevents the new cell being identical. One method of doing this is called "somatic cell nuclear transfer" and involves removing the nucleus from a somatic cell, usually a skin cell. Genetics and Developmental biology, somatic cell nuclear transfer ( SCNT) is a Laboratory technique for creating an Ovum with a donor In Cell biology, the nucleus (pl nuclei; from Latin la ''nucleus'' or la ''nuculeus'' "little nut" or kernel is a membrane-enclosed This nucleus, which contains all of the genetic information needed to produce the organism it was removed from is then injected into an ovum of the same species which has had its own genetic material removed. An ovum (plural ova) is a Haploid Female reproductive cell or Gamete. The ovum now no longer needs to be fertilized as it contains the correct amount of genetic material(a diploid number of chromosomes) and, in theory, it can be implanted into the uterus of a same-species animal and allowed to develop. "Haplo" redirects here For the fictional character see The Death Gate Cycle. A chromosome is an organized structure of DNA and Protein that is found in cells. The uterus (from the Latin word for womb) is the major Female reproductive organ of most Mammals including Humans One end the The resulting animal will be a genetically identical clone to the animal from which the nucleus was taken. In practice, this technique has so far been problematic, although there have been a few high profile successes, such as Dolly the Sheep and, more recently, Snuppy, the first cloned dog. Dolly was a ewe ( July 5, 1996 – February 14, 2003) that was the first Animal to be cloned from an adult Snuppy (born April 24 2005) is the world's first cloned Dog. This Afghan Hound clone was created by Hwang Woo-Suk and his The dog ( Canis lupus familiaris) is a domesticated Subspecies of the gray wolf, a Mammal of the Canidae family of the order

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