Related topics: cancer , genes , protein , genetic mutations , evolution
Mutation
hideIn biology, mutations are changes to the nucleotide sequence of the genetic material of an organism. Mutations can be caused by copying errors in the genetic material during cell division, by exposure to ultraviolet or ionizing radiation, chemical mutagens, or viruses, or can be induced by the organism itself, by cellular processes such as hypermutation. In multicellular organisms with dedicated reproductive cells, mutations can be subdivided into germ line mutations, which can be passed on to descendants through the reproductive cells, and somatic mutations, which involve cells outside the dedicated reproductive group and which are not usually transmitted to descendants. If the organism can reproduce asexually through mechanisms such as cuttings or budding the distinction can become blurred. For example, plants can sometimes transmit somatic mutations to their descendants asexually or sexually where flower buds develop in somatically mutated parts of plants. A new mutation that was not inherited from either parent is called a de novo mutation. The source of the mutation is unrelated to the consequence, although the consequences are related to which cells were mutated.
Mutations create variation within the gene pool. Less favorable (or deleterious) mutations can be reduced in frequency in the gene pool by natural selection, while more favorable (beneficial or advantageous) mutations may accumulate and result in adaptive evolutionary changes. For example, a butterfly may produce offspring with new mutations. The majority of these mutations will have no effect; but one might change the color of one of the butterfly's offspring, making it harder (or easier) for predators to see. If this color change is advantageous, the chance of this butterfly surviving and producing its own offspring are a little better, and over time the number of butterflies with this mutation may form a larger percentage of the population.
Neutral mutations are defined as mutations whose effects do not influence the fitness of an individual. These can accumulate over time due to genetic drift. It is believed that the overwhelming majority of mutations have no significant effect on an organism's fitness. Also, DNA repair mechanisms are able to mend most changes before they become permanent mutations, and many organisms have mechanisms for eliminating otherwise permanently mutated somatic cells.
Mutation is generally accepted by the scientific community as the mechanism upon which natural selection acts, providing the advantageous new traits that survive and multiply in offspring or disadvantageous traits that die out with weaker organisms.
For more information about Mutation, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with mutations
New research could advance research field critical to personalized medicine
Dec 29, 2009 |
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It's the ultimate goal in the treatment of cancer: tailoring a person's therapy based on his or her genetic makeup. While a lofty goal, scientists are steadily moving forward, rapidly exploiting new technologies. Researchers ...
Molecular anchor links the 2 inheritable diseases Fanconi anemia and Bloom's syndrome
Dec 24, 2009 |
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A new study establishes a molecular link that bridges two rare inherited disorders and explains why these diseases result in genetic instability. The research, published by Cell Press in the December 24th issue of the journal ...
BBS proteins shown to run an export business that protects cilia
Dec 28, 2009 |
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A protein complex mutated in human disease removes excess signaling molecules to prevent them from damaging cilia, say researchers from UMass Medical School. The study will be published in the December 28 ...
Common mechanism underlies many diseases of excitability
Dec 28, 2009 |
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Inherited mutations in voltage-gated sodium channels (Navs) are associated with many different human diseases, including genetic forms of epilepsy and chronic pain. Theodore Cummins and colleagues, at Indiana University School ...
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Looks can be deceiving: Lizards acquire the same camouflaging adaptation in different ways
9 hours ago |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Does it matter if nature solves the same problem multiple ways? A NSF-supported study of lizard populations in White Sands, New Mexico has helped researcher Erica Rosenblum of the University ...
Tracking Virus Resistance Genes in Watermelon Made Easier
Dec 29, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Finding watermelon genes that confer resistance to the devastating zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV) has just been made easier, thanks to molecular markers developed by Agricultural Research ...
'Notch'ing up a role in the multisystem disease tuberous sclerosis complex
Dec 28, 2009 |
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Two independent teams of researchers have identified a role for enhanced activation of the signaling protein Notch in tumors characterized by inactivation of either the TSC1 or the TSC2 protein. As indicated by Warren Pear, ...
Newly Discovered Gene Mutation Linked to Nerve Diseases
Dec 28, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine have identified mutations in the gene for TRPV4 that cause two related degenerative motor nerve disorders, scapuloperoneal spinal muscular ...
One step closer to closure: Neuroscientists discovery key to spinal cord defects
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Dec 28, 2009 |
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Spinal cord disorders like spina bifida arise during early development when future spinal cord cells growing in a flat layer fail to roll up into a tube. In the Dec. 6 issue of Nature Cell Biology, researchers from the Jo ...
Splitting fluorescent protein helps image clusters in live cells
Dec 26, 2009 |
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Half a protein is better than none, and in this case, it's way better than a whole one. A Rice University lab has discovered that dividing a particular fluorescent protein and using it as a tag is handy for analyzing the ...
Critical protein helps mend damaged DNA
Dec 24, 2009 |
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In order to preserve our DNA, cells have developed an intricate system for monitoring and repairing DNA damage. Yet precisely how the initial damage signal is converted into a repair response remains unclear. Researchers ...
A novel gene found for childhood-onset asthma
Dec 23, 2009 |
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Pediatric researchers have identified a novel gene involved in childhood asthma, in one of the largest gene studies to date of the common respiratory disease. Because the gene, called DENND1B, affects cells and signaling ...
Research yields new agent for some drug-resistant non-small cell lung cancers
Dec 23, 2009 |
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The ability to make, test, and map the atomic structure of new anti-cancer agents has enabled a team of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists to discover a compound capable of halting a common type of drug-resistant ...
Synergistic interaction enhances pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease
Dec 23, 2009 |
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Scientists have identified a synergistic interaction that disrupts normal intracellular transport mechanisms and leads to the accumulation of neuron-damaging clumps of protein associated with Parkinson's disease (PD), a neurodegenerative ...
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