Somatic Cells vs. Gametes

Main Difference

In multicellular organisms there are two types of cells mainly, somatic cells and sex, or gametes. Somatic cells are diploid cells that are found around everywhere in the body, these cells are not involved in any kind of sexual reproduction, whereas, Gametes are haploid cells, which give rise to diploid zygote after fusing during sexual reproduction. Human somatic cell contains 46 chromosomes, while human gamete possesses 46 chromosomes. Mitosis takes place to form somatic cells, whereas meiosis takes place during production of gametes.

Difference Between Somatic Cells and Gametes

Comparison Chart

What are Somatic Cells?

The cells in the body except germ cell (sex cells) are known as somatic cells . The word ‘somatic’ is derived from the Greek word, ‘soma’, meaning body. Somatic cells are formed using the process of mitosis. A human somatic cell contains 46 chromosomes, which are attached in set of 23 pairs, each chromosome from maternal and other from paternal combines to form each set of somatic cells. Stem cells are the cells, which undergo differentiation to form various types of somatic cells. According to the reliable studies, there are around 220 types of somatic cells, forming the human body. As somatic cells are produced by mitosis, the number of chromosome in each set is identical to that of the parent cell.

What are Gametes?

Gametes are often called as sex cells or reproductive cells that combine during sexual reproduction to form a new cell called a Zygote. Male gametes are sperm, whereas female gametes are called ova (eggs), they combine together in process of fertilization to produce offspring. The process of formation of gametes is known as gametognesis, the human gametes carry unpaired chromosomes that are 23 in number. The process of meiosis work in to form gametes. Meiosis produces daughter cells with half the number of chromosomes of the parent cell and it contains half the genetic material from the parent cell.