Question

in the pancreas, alpha cells make the hormone glucagon whereas beta cells make the hormone insulin. what explains their abilities to make different hormones even though they are part of the same organ?

the cells express different genes.

the cells have different metabolic rates.

the cells contain different types of dna.

the cells originated from different stem cells.

Explanation:

Cell differentiation occurs through gene expression. All cells in an organism (except for some special cases like mature red blood cells) have the same DNA. Alpha and beta cells in the pancreas are part of the same organ and originate from the same stem - cell population. The difference in their hormone - making abilities is due to which genes are expressed (turned on) in each cell type. Different gene expression leads to the production of different proteins (hormones in this case). Metabolic rates can be influenced by gene expression but are not the direct cause of the difference in hormone production.

Answer:

The cells express different genes.