Mutations Flashcards
1
Q
Causes of mutations
A
- exposure to radiation,
- viruses,
- faulty copying during transcription
2
Q
A change in the sequence of nucleotides in DNA
A
Mutation
3
Q
Mutation
A
Change in the sequence of nucleotides in DNA
4
Q
Types of mutations
(EXTENSION)
A
- Point: single nucleotide change
- Substitution: replacing one (or more) nucleotide(s) with another
- Deletion: deleting one (or more) nucleotide(s) from the DNA
- Insertion: adding one (or more) nucleotide(s) into the DNA
5
Q
The effect of a mutation could be…
A
- beneficial - the change results in a new adaptation that makes the organism better suited to its environment (natural selection will favour this mutation)
- neutral - no change as the same amino acid is coded for
- harmful - the change results in a different protein, or no protein, being produced, which is harmful to the organism lethal - the change results in a non-viable cell/ zygote/ organism, which therefore dies.
6
Q
True or false: mutations are always harmful
A
False
7
Q
Frame shift
(EXTENSION)
A
A change in the way codons are read because nucleotide triplets shift as a result of a deletion or insertion
8
Q
Mutation (definition)
A
The alteration of the nucleotide sequence of the genome of an organism
