The fact that plants can be cloned from somatic cells demonstrates that ________.
A) differentiated cells retain all the genes of the zygote
B) genes are lost during differentiation
C) the differentiated state is normally very unstable
D) differentiation does not occur in plants

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The ability to clone plants from somatic cells suggests that differentiated cells retain all the genes that were present in the zygote. This is because the process of cloning involves taking a somatic cell and inducing it to become pluripotent (able to differentiate into any type of cell), and then using it to generate a new plant. If genes were lost during differentiation, it would not be possible to generate a new plant from a somatic cell.

The Fact That Plants Can Be Cloned from Somatic Cells