Science · Biology library · Developmental biology

· Development & differentiation

Introduction to development
How does an organism go from a single cell to something as complex
as a frog, fly, or human being? Learn the basic principles of
development.

Google Classroom Facebook

Twitter Email

Key points:
A multicellular organism develops from a single cell
(the zygote) into a collection of many different cell
types, organized into tissues and organs.

Development involves cell division, body axis

formation, tissue and organ development, and cell
differentiation (gaining a final cell type identity).

During development, cells use both intrinsic, or

inherited, information and extrinsic signals from
neighbors to "decide on" their behavior and identity.

Cells usually become more and more restricted in

Science Biology library their developmental potential (the cell types they can
Developmental biology produce) as development progresses.
Development &
differentiation
Development &
differentiation
Introduction
Introduction to
development You, my friend, are a walking, talking, thinking, learning
collection of over 30 trillion cells1 . But you weren’t
Cellular specialization
 (differentiation)
always that large and complex. In fact, you (like every
other human on the planet) started out as a single cell – a
Zygote differentiating into
somatic and germ cells zygote, or the product of fertilization. So, how did your
amazing, complex body form?
Next lesson

Development: The big picture

During development, a human or other multicellular
organism goes through an amazing transformation, one at
least as dramatic as the metamorphosis of a caterpillar
turning into a butterfly. Over the course of hours, days, or
months, the organism turns from a single cell called the
zygote (the product of sperm meeting egg) into a huge,
organized collection of cells, tissues, and organs.

As an embryo develops, its cells divide, grow, and migrate

in specific patterns to make a more and more elaborate
body. To function correctly, that body needs well-defined
axes (such as head vs. tail). It also needs a specific
collection of many-celled organs and other structures,
positioned in the right spots along the axes and
connected up with one another in the right ways.

The cells of an organism's body must also specialize into

many functionally different types as development goes
on. Your body (or even the body of a newborn) contains a
wide array of different cell types, from neurons to liver
cells to blood cells. Each one of these cell types is found
only in certain parts of the body—in certain tissues of
certain organs—where its function is needed.

How does this intricate cellular dance unfold?

Development is largely under the control of genes.
Mature cell types of the body, like neurons and liver cells,
express different sets of genes, which give them their
unique properties and functions. In the same way, cells
during development also express specific sets of genes.
These patterns of gene expression guide cells’ behavior
and allow them to communicate with neighboring cells,
coordinating development.

In this article and the ones that follow, we’ll take a closer
look at principles and examples of development.

Some basic processes of development

Different organisms develop in different ways, but there
are some basic things that must happen during the
embryonic development of almost any organism:

The number of cells must increase through division

Body axes (head-tail, right-left, etc.) must form

Diagram based on frog life cycle diagram from Xenbase2 .

Tissues must form, and organs and structures must

take on their shapes
 Diagram based on frog life cycle diagram from Xenbase2 .

Individual cells must acquire their final cell type

identities (e.g., neuron)

To be clear, these processes aren’t separate events that

happen one after another. Instead, they are going on at
the same time as the embryo develops.

For instance, different body axes (such as head-tail and

left-right) are set up at different times during early
development, while the cells of the embryo are dividing
away in the background. Similarly, formation of an organ
requires cell division to build that organ, as well as
differentiation (cells taking on their final identities) to
ensure that the right cells make up the right parts of the
organ.

Sources of information in
development
How do cells know what they're supposed to do during
development? That is, how does a cell know when and
how to migrate, divide, or differentiate? Broadly speaking,
there are two kinds of information that guide cells'
behavior:
 Intrinsic (lineage) information is inherited from the
mother cell, via cell division. For instance, a cell might
inherit molecules that "tell" it that it belongs to the
neural, or nerve cell-producing, lineage of the body.

Extrinsic (positional) information is received from the

cell's surroundings. For instance, a cell might get
chemical signals from a neighbor, instructing it to
become a particular kind of photoreceptor (light-
detecting neuron).

During development, cells often use both intrinsic and

extrinsic information to make decisions about their
identity and behavior. Of course, they don't actually
"decide" by thinking the problem over like you or me!
Instead, cells make decisions in the way a calculator or
computer would: by using genes and proteins to perform
logic operations that calculate the best response.
Differentiation, determination, and
stem cells
Over the course of development, cells tend to become
more and more restricted in their "developmental
potential." 3 That is, the types of other cells they can
make by cell division (or directly turn into) become fewer
and fewer.

For instance, a human zygote can give rise to all the cell
types of the human body, as well as the cells that make
up the placenta. To use vocab from the stem cell field,
this ability to give rise to all cell types of the body and
placenta makes the zygote totipotent. However, after
multiple rounds of cell division, the cells of the embryo
lose their ability to give rise to cells of the placenta and
become more restricted in their potential (pluripotent)4 .
These changes are due to alterations in the set of genes
expressed in the cells.

Eventually, the cells of the embryo are split into three

different groups known as germ layers: mesoderm,
endoderm, and ectoderm. Each germ layer will, under
normal conditions, give rise to its own specific set of
tissues and organs.

Image modified from Some of the cells that arise from animal gastrulas with
three germ layers, by Chinami Michaels, the Embryo Project Encyclopedia,
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0
As the cells of a germ layer continue to divide, interacting
with their neighbors and reading out their own internal
information, their cell fate “options” will get narrower and
narrower. At first, cells may be specified, earmarked for a
certain fate but able to switch given the right cues. Next,
they may become determined, meaning that they are
irreversibly committed to a certain fate. Once a cell is
determined, even if it’s moved to a new environment, it
will differentiate as the cell type to which it's become
committed5 .

Eventually, most cells in the body differentiate, or take on

a stable, final identity. Examples of differentiated cell
types in the human body include neurons, the cells lining
the intestine, and the macrophages that gobble up
bacterial invaders in the immune system. Each
differentiated cell type has a specific gene expression
pattern that it maintains stably. The genes expressed in a
cell type specify proteins and functional RNAs needed by
that particular cell type, giving it the right structure and
function to do its job.
For example, the diagram above shows two genes that
are differently expressed between a liver cell and a
neuron. One gene, encoding part of an enzyme that
breaks down alcohol and other toxins, is expressed only
in the liver cell (and not in the neuron). The other gene,
encoding a neurotransmitter, is expressed only in the
neuron (and not in the liver cell). Many other genes would
also be expressed differently between these two cell
types.

Adult stem cells

Not all cells in the human body differentiate. Some cells
in the adult body retain the ability to divide and produce
multiple cell types. These include adult stem cells, which
are usually multipotent: they can produce more than one
cell type, but not a large range of cell types4 . For instance,
hematopoietic stem cells in the bone marrow can give
rise to all the cell types of the blood system (shown
below), but not other cell types such as neurons or skin
cells.

Image modified from Hematopoietic system of bone marrow, by OpenStax

College, Anatomy & Physiology, CC BY 3.0
The hallmark of stem cells is that they undergo
asymmetric cell division, producing two daughter cells
that are different from one another. One daughter
remains a stem cell, a process called self-renewal (the
dividing cell "renews" itself by making a functionally
identical daughter). The other daughter cell takes on a
different identity, either differentiating directly into a
needed cell type or going through additional divisions to
make more cells.

Image modified from Hematopoietic system of bone marrow, by OpenStax

College, Anatomy & Physiology, CC BY 3.0

You can learn more about development and see more

examples of its principles and processes in these articles:

Frog development: learn about the early

development of frogs. Bonus: see an experiment that
makes a two-headed newt!

Homeotic genes: learn about the "master regulator"

genes that specify whole segments or structures of
the body. Bonus: see a fly with legs growing out of its
head!

[References]

Sort by: Top Voted

Questions Tips & Thanks

 Want to join the conversation?

Log in

AB 3 years ago
more

I could not find specific lesson for plant embryology so I

am asking this question here.

In the unfertilized embryo sac in angiosperms, is the

central cell considered to be haploid or diploid? though
it has two polar nuclei but both of them are haploid, so I
don't think it can be considered diploid.
(Actually, I encountered a question that specifically asks
the number of haploid cells in an unfertilized embryo
sac.)

Please help.

(2
Reply • Comment votes)
Upvote Downvote … Flag

2 years ago
Ivana - Science trainee more

'Polygonum-type central cell is a binucleate

cell that, upon fertilization with one of the
two sperm cells, forms triploid endosperm to
nourish embryo development. '

The fact that is it, binucleate counts, as it is

diploid.

The central cell of the embryonic sac in

Angiosperms is diploid. And triploid
fertilization is what makes it unique and
distinguished Angiosperms from other plants.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20506
265
 (1
Comment vote)
Upvote Downvote … Flag

Cellular specialization (differentiation)

Biology is brought to you with support from the