Molecular Biology Mutations Flashcards
1
Q
What are mutations?
A
permanent, inheritable change in genetic material
2
Q
What do mutations mess up?
A
DNA, mRNA, tRNA, amino acids, proteins, messed up cells
3
Q
Beneficial mutations:
A
- give organism a selective advantage
- tends to become more common over time
- leads to new evolutionary changes
4
Q
Harmful mutations:
A
- reduce an individual’s fitness
- tends to be selected against
- occur at low rates
5
Q
Neutral mutations:
A
- no benefit nor a cost
- not acted on by natural selection
6
Q
Types of mutations: insertion
A
- an extra nucleotide is inserted into the DNA
- causes a frame shift right
7
Q
Types of mutations: deletion
A
- a nucleotide is deleted from the DNA
- causes a frame shift left
