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Updated: Jun 2, 2026

Analysis of the Development of a Morphological Phenotype as a Function of Protein Concentration in Budding Yeast
Published on: March 24, 2010
How cells change their phenotype
David Tosh1, Jonathan M W Slack
1Developmental Biology Programme, Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, UK. D.Tosh@bath.ac.uk
Abstract:
Recent attention has focused on the remarkable ability of adult stem cells to produce differentiated cells from embryologically unrelated tissues. This phenomenon is an example of metaplasia and shows that embryological commitments can be reversed or erased under certain circumstances. In some cases, even fully differentiated cells can change their phenotype (transdifferentiation). This review examines recently discovered cases of metaplasia, and speculates on the potential molecular and cellular mechanisms that underlie the switches, and their significance to developmental biology and medicine.
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