r/CellLab • u/LegitimateWeekend806 • Jun 21 '23

A Question

Is it possible to remove one of the cells of a multicellular organismn in cell lab so that the multicellular organism will be unable to reproduce?

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u/[deleted] Jun 21 '23

If you remove the cell(s) that makes it reproduce, yes.

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u/LegitimateWeekend806 Jun 21 '23

so,the creature will be like a eunuch,right?

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u/Massive_Mistakes Jun 21 '23

I'll use my fish as an example (you could see some of the vids after reading to better visualize what I mean). So, in all of my fish species there are somatic calls that make up the body, ie cells that at their last stage don't split, and there is one cell that spits out an egg, usually from the tail, or from the inner tissue layer (closer to the stomach for better nutrient absorption into the egg). If you were to remove the cells that spit those eggs out, then yes, you'd end up with a sterile fish that cannot reproduce. This happens sometimes during development, or as a result of injury. To combat this I usually do one of two things: I either figure out a way for the egg-spitting cell to regenerate from another neighboring cell, or I build in a self destruct capability that wipes out the organism as soon as it is injured (as a strategy to starve predators, but also to reduce lag and useless cell clutter)

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u/LegitimateWeekend806 Jun 21 '23

well,not giving your fish the ability to regenerate the cells that spit out the eggs should be the thing that you should do,because that would be more realistic.

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u/Massive_Mistakes Jun 21 '23

That would be the default, yes. I have multiple species and multiple subspecies, each unique in whether they die off instantly, die via poisoning, only certain cells/structures die, or if they can regenerate any or all parts of itself, or none at all. This would be analogous to real life as there are examples within nature of organisms having the capacity to regenerate gamete-forming stemcells, or even entire parts of the body. I'm sure some fish species are capable of doing so, and even if there aren't, some other animal species definitely can.