Description
Please Help me with this question?
Explanation & Answer
A gene mutation is a permanent alteration in the DNA sequence that makes up a gene, such that the sequence differs from what is found in most people. Mutations range in size; they can affect anywhere from a single DNA building block (base pair) to a large segment of a chromosome that includes multiple genes.
Gene mutations can be classified in two major ways:
Hereditary mutations are inherited from a parent and are present throughout a person’s life in virtually every cell in the body. These mutations are also called germline mutations because they are present in the parent’s egg or sperm cells, which are also called germ cells. When an egg and a sperm cell unite, the resulting fertilized egg cell receives DNA from both parents. If this DNA has a mutation, the child that grows from the fertilized egg will have the mutation in each of his or her cells.
Acquired (or somatic) mutations occur at some time during a person’s life and are present only in certain cells, not in every cell in the body. These changes can be caused by environmental factors such as ultraviolet radiation from the sun, or can occur if a mistake is made as DNA copies itself during cell division. Acquired mutations in somatic cells (cells other than sperm and egg cells) cannot be passed on to the next generation.
Review
Review
24/7 Homework Help
Stuck on a homework question? Our verified tutors can answer all questions, from basic math to advanced rocket science!
Similar Content
Related Tags
50 Shades of Grey
by E. L. James
Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Brontë
The Jade Peony
by Wayson Choy
Dead Poets Society
by Nancy Horowitz Kleinbaum
The Hobbit
by J. R. R. Tolkien
Epic of Gilgamesh
by Unknown
Underground A Human History of the Worlds Beneath our Feet
by Will Hunt
The Picture of Dorian Gray
by Oscar Wilde
Divergent
by Veronica Roth