Mutations and Gene Pools Flashcards
1
Q
What is a mutation?
A
- changes in the DNA that can occur spontaneously or due to exposure to a mutagen such as ionising radiation.
- they affect a single gene (gene mutation) or more than one gene (chromosomal mutation)
2
Q
What can mutations be classified as?
A
- Cause
- Heritability
- Effect
- Extent
- Change in DNA
CHEEC
3
Q
What are the effects of a mutation?
A
- Missense mutations: causes a change in the amino acid and therefore in the protein produced.
- Nonsense mutations: changes the base sequence to the code to STOP, and protein synthesis will be halted.
- Neutral mutations: causes a change in an amino acid, but does not change the overall structure of the protein.
- Silent mutations: do not cause any change in the amino acid, as there are multiple codons that code for the same amino acid.
4
Q
What are the point mutations or changes on the site of DNA
A
- insertion — a new nucleotide is added to the DNA strand
- subsititution — a new nucleotide replaces the original one, with a different base.
- deletion — a nucleotide is removed from the strand of DNA
5
Q
What are the causes for a mutation?
A
induced mutations: when the organism is exposed to a mutagen in their DNA
random mutations: when there is a random biological error in the sequence of the organism’s DNA.
6
Q
A