From 2007.igem.org

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The idea is to make a multicellular organism out of bacteria. This simple organism will have two distinct types of cells. The first one would be the germ line, the other one the soma. The germ line will be auxotroph for a given nutriment, which will be provided by the soma. The soma will differentiate from the germ line and will be unable to divide. In this way, there is a need for a part of the germ line to differentiate into soma in order to feed the rest of the germ line Hence, the soma doesn't exist without a germ line to generate it.