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Although mutations that cause changes in protein sequences can be harmful to an organism, on occasions the effect may be positive in a given environment. In this case, the mutation may enable the mutant organism to withstand particular environmental stresses better than wild-type organisms, or reproduce more quickly.
Point germline mutations can lead to beneficial as well as harmful traits or diseases. This leads to adaptations based on the environment where the organism lives. An advantageous mutation can create an advantage for that organism and lead to the trait's being passed down from generation to generation, improving and benefiting the entire ...
Illustration of chromosome crossover during genetic recombination. In evolutionary genetics, Muller's ratchet (named after Hermann Joseph Muller, by analogy with a ratchet effect) is a process which, in the absence of recombination (especially in an asexual population), results in an accumulation of irreversible deleterious mutations.
An organism may acquire new traits through genetic mutation, but mutation may also result in impaired function of the genes and, in severe cases, causes the death of the organism. Mutation is also a major source for acquisition of resistance to antibiotics in bacteria, and to antifungal agents in yeasts and molds.
There are several methods, or forms, of mutation that exist including spontaneous mutation, errors during replication and repair, as well as mutation due to environmental effects. [8] These origins of mutations can cause many different types of mutations which influence gene expression on both large and small scales.
Achondroplasia is a skeletal system disorder caused by a recessive allele that can still result in a live birth in the homozygous state. [8] One mutant allele for achondroplasia can be tolerated, but having two results in death. In the case of homozygous achondroplasia, death almost invariably occurs before birth or in the perinatal period.
However, after a period with no new mutations, the genetic variation at these sites is eliminated due to genetic drift. Natural selection reduces genetic variation by eliminating maladapted individuals, and consequently the mutations that caused the maladaptation. At the same time, new mutations occur, resulting in a mutation–selection ...
Recently reported estimates of the human genome-wide mutation rate. The human germline mutation rate is approximately 0.5×10 −9 per basepair per year. [1]In genetics, the mutation rate is the frequency of new mutations in a single gene, nucleotide sequence, or organism over time. [2]