The key difference between somatic cells and gametes depends on the ploidy of the genome. Somatic cells consist of diploid (2n) genome while gametes consist of a haploid (n) genome.
Reproduction is one of the main characteristics of a living organism. Reproduction is two modes such as asexual reproduction and sexual reproduction. Asexual reproduction occurs via somatic cells while the sexual reproduction occurs via gametes. Therefore, somatic cells are present all over the body. On the other hand, gametes are present only in reproductive organs. There are two types of gametes; male and female gametes. Sperms are male gametes while ova are female gametes.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What are Somatic Cells
3. What are Gametes
4. Similarities Between Somatic Cells and Gametes
5. Side by Side Comparison – Somatic Cells vs Gametes in Tabular Form
6. Summary
What are Somatic Cells?
In general, somatic cells are the biological cells present in the body. They include all types of cells except reproductive cells. Therefore, somatic cells do not involve in sexual reproduction but involve in asexual reproduction. In humans, somatic cells are diploid. Hence, two sets of homologous chromosomes are present in each cell. During asexual reproduction, they undergo mitosis producing two copies of identical cells.
Figure 01: Somatic Cells
Stem cells produce somatic cells. Stem cells differentiate into many types of distinct cells. These somatic cells are capable of forming organs. Their function varies from one cell type to the other. In an adult human body, an average of three trillion somatic cells is present. Somatic cells later differentiate into muscle cells, neurons, liver cells, blood cells, etc.
What are Gametes?
Gametes are mature male or female reproductive cells. They are haploid cells since they contain only one set of homologous chromosomes. Male gametes are sperms, and female gametes are ova. Gametes involve only with the sexual reproduction. They are produced by meiosis. Here, the male and female haploid gametes fuse in a fertilization process giving rise to a diploid zygote. The resulting offspring receive one set of the homologous chromosome from each parent.
Figure 02: Gametes
During the synthesis of gametes, due to replication errors, mutations can occur. These errors include indels, insertions and deletions of nucleotides in DNA, etc. These mutations are passed into the offspring through gametes.
What are the Similarities Between Somatic Cells and Gametes?
- Both somatic cells and gametes are involved in reproduction.
- Also, both are present in the living system.
What is the Difference Between Somatic Cells and Gametes?
Somatic cells are diploid cells whereas the gametes are haploid cells. Therefore, this is the key difference between somatic cells and gametes. Furthermore, stem cells give rise to somatic cells, and germ cells give rise to gametes. Thus, it is another difference between somatic cells and gametes. A further difference between somatic cells and gametes is that the meiosis does not take place during the production of somatic cells, whereas meiosis takes place during the gametogenesis (production of gametes) giving rise to haploid cells.
Moreover, a difference between somatic cells and gametes is that the somatic cells contain homologous pairs of chromosomes while the gametes contain only unpaired chromosomes. Besides, somatic cells form internal and external structures of the body, whereas gametes do not. Most importantly, somatic cells are found almost everywhere in the body, whereas gametes are restricted to certain parts. Additionally, somatic cells do not fuse during sexual reproduction, whereas gametes fuse during sexual reproduction giving rise to a diploid zygote. So, we can consider this also as a difference between somatic cells and gametes.
The below infographic on the difference between somatic cells and gametes presents these differences as a side by side comparison.
Summary – Somatic Cells vs Gametes
Somatic cells are all biological cells except reproductive cells. Gametes are mature male or female reproductive cells that fuse together resulting in a zygote during sexual fertilization. The key difference between somatic cells and gametes depends on the ploidy of the genome. Somatic cells consist of diploid (2n) genome while gametes consist of a haploid (n) genome. Moreover, stem cells produce somatic cells, and they differentiate into many types of body cells. Somatic cells involve in asexual reproduction, but gametes are involved in sexual reproduction. Male gametes are sperms, and female gametes are ova. This is the summary of the difference between somatic cells and gametes.