Practice question

Conditional specification fundamentally relies on dynamic interactions among neighboring cells through secreted morphogens and contact-dependent signals to assign fate. Cells maintain broad potency allowing compensation for loss or experimental manipulation, as seen when mammalian morula cells replace ablated inner cell mass through Hippo-mediated respecification. Morphogen gradients establish concentration thresholds integrating community effects, lateral inhibition and positional information to generate diverse identities. Fixed predetermined fate from onset contradicts this logic, instead typifying autonomous mosaic embryos where cytoplasmic determinants rigidly allocate lineages. Therefore regulative embryos preserve flexibility until inductive cues progressively restrict potential and establish determination.