Fig. 2.

Based on criteria such as supply of variation, competitive interactions and dependence on intrinsic characters, somatic cell populations, and organismal populations can no longer be considered as radically opposed. In an idealized model, somatic cell populations were considered to occupy completely different areas in the “individuality space” (A). More realistic model modifies this view, suggesting that somatic cell populations and organismal populations approximate each other with respect to the above three criteria (B). (Adapted with modifications from Godfrey-Smith, 2009)