totipotency

1. The ability of cells such as an embryonic stem cell to differentiate into any type of body cell. Plant cells are also totipotent, which helps to explain why a graft of a plant can generate a whole new individual out of just a small branch cutting.

Example Sentences

For example, at the four-cell stage, all cells were presumed to be equally capable of giving rise to all cell types — a state known as symmetrical totipotency.

From Nature

Rabbi Kotler understood in 1941 that America’s respect for diversity, combined with the totipotency of the Talmud, would lead to a historic revitalization of Jewish life and learning.

From Wall Street Journal