Fig. 1From: Advances in biodiversity: metagenomics and the unveiling of biological dark matterThe separation somatic and germ cell lines as necessitated by sexual reproduction and as described by Weismann [23] in his germplasm theory. This model rules out the inheritance of characteristics acquired by an individual’s somatic tissue, as there is no route for hereditary material to move from somatic cells into the germ lineBack to article page