MUTATIONS

What is a mutation?

A sudden heritable change in genetic material or the characters in an organism.

What are mutants?

Organisms that carry mutations.

What are mutagens?

Factors or agents that cause mutations, such as radiation, chemicals, and cigarettes.

What is a variant in genetics?

An individual showing an altered phenotype or phenotypic traits.

What is a gene mutation?

A mutation that causes changes in the base sequence of genes, also referred to as a point mutation.

What is the origin of the word 'mutation'?

It comes from the Latin word 'mutare', which means 'to change'.

Who coined the term mutation?

The term was coined by scientist Hugo de Vries in 1890.

What did Morgan study in 1910?

He studied the mechanisms of mutations.

What significant work did Muller do in 1927?

He performed experiments on artificial mutagenesis and was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1946.

What historical case of mutation was recorded by Seth Wright?

He recorded the case of a distortion leg form of a male lamb compared to a female lamb's legs in 1791.

What are the possible effects of mutations?

Most mutations have harmful effects, but some are beneficial.

What are the two categories of mutations based on survival of an individual?

Lethal mutation and sub-lethal mutation.

What happens in a lethal mutation?

It leads to the death of the individual.

What is a sub-lethal mutation?

A mutation with a 90% chance of survival, but still possibly leading to death.

What is a super vital mutation?

A mutation that enhances the survival of an individual.

What is the difference between spontaneous and induced mutations?

Spontaneous mutations occur naturally, while induced mutations are produced by chemical or physical treatments.

What are somatic and germinal mutations?

Somatic mutations occur in body cells, while germinal mutations occur in reproductive cells.

What is the direction of a forward mutation?

It goes from normal to mutant.

What is the direction of a reverse mutation?

It goes from mutant to normal.

What are the two categories of mutations based on the type of trait affected?

Visible mutations and biochemical mutations.

What characterizes a visible mutation?

It affects phenotypic characters that can be observed.

What characterizes a biochemical mutation?

It affects the production of biochemicals and their unique gestures or mannerisms.