The term somatic - etymologically from the Ancient Greek words of "σωματικός" (sōmatikós, “bodily”) and σῶμα (sôma, “body”) - is often used in biology to refer to the cells of the body in contrast to the reproductive ( germline) cells, which usually give rise to the egg or sperm (or other

gamete A gamete (; , ultimately ) is a haploid cell that fuses with another haploid cell during fertilization in organisms that reproduce sexually. Gametes are an organism's reproductive cells, also referred to as sex cells. In species that produce ...

s in other organisms). These somatic cells are diploid, containing two copies of each

chromosome A chromosome is a long DNA molecule with part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells the most important of these proteins are ...

, whereas germ cells are haploid, as they only contain one copy of each chromosome (in preparation for fertilisation). Although under normal circumstances all somatic cells in an organism contain identical DNA, they develop a variety of tissue-specific characteristics. This process is called differentiation, through epigenetic and regulatory alterations. The grouping of similar cells and tissues creates the foundation for organs.

Somatic mutation A somatic mutation is a change in the DNA sequence of a somatic cell of a multicellular organism with dedicated reproductive cells; that is, any mutation that occurs in a cell other than a gamete, germ cell, or gametocyte. Unlike germline mutatio ...

s are changes to the genetics of a multicellular organism that are not passed on to its offspring through the germline. Most

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

s are due to somatic mutations. ''Somatic'' is also defined as relating to the wall of the body cavity, particularly as distinguished from the head, limbs or

viscera In biology, an organ is a collection of tissues joined in a structural unit to serve a common function. In the hierarchy of life, an organ lies between tissue and an organ system. Tissues are formed from same type cells to act together in a f ...

. It is also used in the term

somatic nervous system The somatic nervous system (SNS), or voluntary nervous system is the part of the peripheral nervous system associated with the voluntary control of body movements via skeletal muscles. The somatic nervous system consists of sensory nerves carr ...

, which is the portion of the

vertebrate Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () (chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, with c ...

nervous system In biology, the nervous system is the highly complex part of an animal that coordinates its actions and sensory information by transmitting signals to and from different parts of its body. The nervous system detects environmental changes ...

that regulates voluntary movements of the body.

Mutation frequency

The frequency of

mutation In biology, a mutation is an alteration in the nucleic acid sequence of the genome of an organism, virus, or extrachromosomal DNA. Viral genomes contain either DNA or RNA. Mutations result from errors during DNA replication, DNA or viral repl ...

s in mouse somatic tissue (

brain A brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It is located in the head, usually close to the sensory organs for senses such as vision. It is the most complex organ in a ve ...

liver The liver is a major organ only found in vertebrates which performs many essential biological functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the synthesis of proteins and biochemicals necessary for digestion and growth. In humans, it ...

Sertoli cell Sertoli cells are a type of sustentacular "nurse" cell found in human testes which contribute to the process of spermatogenesis (the production of sperm) as a structural component of the seminiferous tubules. They are activated by follicle-stimu ...

s) was compared to the mutation frequency in male germline cells at sequential stages of spermatogenesis. The spontaneous mutation frequency was found to be significantly higher (5 to 10-fold) in the somatic cell types than in the male germline cells. In female mice, somatic cells were also found to have a higher mutation frequency than germline cells. It was suggested that elevated levels of

DNA repair DNA repair is a collection of processes by which a cell identifies and corrects damage to the DNA molecules that encode its genome. In human cells, both normal metabolic activities and environmental factors such as radiation can cause DNA da ...

enzymes play a prominent role in the lower mutation frequency of male and female germline cells, and that enhanced genetic integrity is a fundamental characteristic of germline cells. DNA repair processes can remove DNA damages that would, otherwise, upon DNA replication, cause mutation.

References

{{developmental-biology-stub Developmental biology

Mutation frequency

See also

References