germ line

germ line

a collection of haploid cells derived from the specialized cells of the primitive gonad.

Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

germ line

(jĕrm līn)

A collection of haploid cells derived from the specialized cells of the primitive gonad.

Medical Dictionary for the Health Professions and Nursing © Farlex 2012

germ line

1. The lineage of cells leading to the contemporary GERM CELLS.

2. Often used loosely to refer to the cells of the ovary and testes that give rise, respectively, to the ova and spermatozoa, and to the ova and spermatozoa themselves.

Collins Dictionary of Medicine © Robert M. Youngson 2004, 2005

germ line

a group of cells that give rise to the GONADS, becoming differentiated from the ‘somatic’ cells early in embryonic development. Only germ-line cells have the potential to undergo MEIOSIS, and a MUTATION event in these cells may well be transmitted to the offspring, unlike genetic change in somatic cells (see SOMATIC MUTATION).

Collins Dictionary of Biology, 3rd ed. © W. G. Hale, V. A. Saunders, J. P. Margham 2005