Denis H, Lacroix J C
Centre de Génétique Moléculaire, Laboratoire propre du CNRS, Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
Trends Genet. 1993 Jan;9(1):7-11. doi: 10.1016/0168-9525(93)90065-P.
The germ cells of extant animals are potentially immortal, whereas somatic cells are mortal, that is, they are able to carry out only a finite number of divisions. In this article we propose an evolutionary interpretation of these differences. We assume that germ cells of the earliest metazoans inherited immortality from their unicellular ancestor, while somatic cells acquired mortality by gaining new functions. It follows that cell mortality was under genetic control from the beginning of metazoan life.
现存动物的生殖细胞具有潜在的永生性，而体细胞则是有寿命的，也就是说，它们只能进行有限次数的分裂。在本文中，我们对这些差异提出一种进化解释。我们假设最早的后生动物的生殖细胞从其单细胞祖先那里继承了永生性，而体细胞通过获得新功能而获得了寿命限制。由此可见，从后生动物生命开始，细胞寿命就受到基因控制。
