6,327
edits
No edit summary |
mNo edit summary |
||
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
A genetic '''mutation''' occurs when mistakes are made during copying/[[reproductive success|reproduction]] of DNA and/or chromosomes. | A genetic '''mutation''' occurs when mistakes are made during copying/[[reproductive success|reproduction]] of DNA and/or chromosomes. | ||
Mutations may be bad for the organism, or neutral, or benefit the organism. The majority of mutations are neutral.<ref>http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/mutations.html#Q1</ref> Mutations are unavoidable and they are necessary for evolution to work at all. Mutations try out new phenotypes and the environment and [[sexual selection]] determine which phenotypes will be prevalent in future and which mutations will become fixed (meaning highly prevalent in the gene pool). | Mutations may be bad for the organism, or neutral, or benefit the organism. The majority of mutations are neutral.<ref>http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/mutations.html#Q1</ref> Mutations are unavoidable and they are necessary for evolution to work at all. Mutations try out new phenotypes and the environment and [[sexual selection]] determine which phenotypes will be prevalent in future and which mutations will become fixed (meaning highly prevalent in the gene pool). | ||
Older parents produce more mutated offspring.<ref>https://www.bionews.org.uk/page_96182</ref> | Older parents produce more mutated offspring.<ref>https://www.bionews.org.uk/page_96182</ref> There is also evidence that the mutation rate is much higher in human males (up to 6 times higher), which has also been found in other species such as birds.<ref>https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10978293</ref><ref>https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959437X02003544?via%3Dihub</ref> This has lead to a hypothesis of evolution being largely driven by mutations in the male germline. | ||
== Kinds of mutations that can occur == | == Kinds of mutations that can occur == |
edits