Category: Uncategorized

LIMITED RESOURCES. "Consequently, the number and the life expectancy of a B-cell clone vary according to the presence or absence of competitor populations. This process of lymphocyte competition is likely controlled by a common need for resources that are in limited supply." http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.0105-2896.2004.0095.x/full View in LinkedIn

LYMPHOCYTE COMPETITION. "In an immune system where the total number of cells is limited, cell survival is no longer a passive phenomenon but rather a continuous active process where each lymphocyte must compete with other lymphocytes to survive." http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.0105-2896.2004.0095.x/full View in LinkedIn

LYMPHOCYTE DYNAMICS. "In adult mice, the number of B lymphocytes remains constant under homeostatic control, in spite of the fact that B cells are produced continuously in numbers that largely exceed the number required to replenish the peripheral pools. It follows that each newly formed lymphocyte can only persist if another lymphocyte dies." http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.0105-2896.2004.0095.x/full View in LinkedIn

LYMPHOCYTE DYNAMICS. "In adult mice, the number of B lymphocytes remains constant under homeostatic control, in spite of the fact that B cells are produced continuously in numbers that largely exceed the number required to replenish the peripheral pools. It follows that each newly formed lymphocyte can only persist if another lymphocyte dies." https://lnkd.in/d-HttRV View in LinkedIn

MUTANT MITOCHONDRIA. "The gene transfer rate tends to increase with decreasing intracellular competition, increasing paternal organelle transmission, and decreasing effective population size. Intense intracellular competition tends to suppress gene transfer because it is likely to exclude mutant mitochondria that lose the essential gene due to the production of lethal individuals." https://lnkd.in/d3qRpgD View in LinkedIn

GERM CELL SET ASIDE. "Germ cells are the founder cells of all sexually reproducing organisms. During development, they are set aside from all somatic cells of the embryo. In many species, germ cells form at the fringe of the embryo proper and then traverse through several developing somatic tissues on their journey to the emerging gonad." (Excellent review). https://lnkd.in/dH2DC3D View in LinkedIn

"GERM CELLS are highly specialized cells that form gametes, and they are the only cells within an organism that contribute genes to offspring. Germline stem cells (GSCs) sustain gamete production, both oogenesis (egg production) and spermatogenesis (sperm production), in many organisms." https://lnkd.in/dsBeTUt View in LinkedIn

GENERATING UNIQUENESS. “Meiosis, from the Greek word meioun, meaning "to make small," refers to the specialized process by which germ cells divide to produce gametes. Because the chromosome number of a species remains the same from one generation to the next, the chromosome number of germ cells must be reduced by half during meiosis. To accomplish this feat, meiosis, unlike mitosis, involves a single round of DNA replication followed by two rounds of cell division. Meiosis also differs from mitosis in that it involves a process known as recombination, during which chromosomes exchange segments with one another. As a result, the gametes produced during meiosis are genetically unique.” https://lnkd.in/dBpemgQ View in LinkedIn

ANEUPLOIDY. "Errors in the transmission of chromosomes during either meiosis or mitosis can lead to aneuploidy; that is, an aberrant number of chromosomes." http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867403000837 View in LinkedIn

SO ENDS this curated dip into biological resource allocation. While Darwinian competition for limited resources has been documented at the ecological, population, cellular and intracellular level, it comes as no surprise that it exists at molecular levels also. The triumph of the fittest at each level must have different drivers. At the molecular level it must be reaction kinetics based on molecular shapes, while at population levels it is about successfully generating viable offspring. At what point competition and cooperation overlap is the interesting question. View in LinkedIn