Genetic Variation: Mutations

Genetic Variation:

 Mutations

• A mutation is an change in a DNA sequence
• Occurs when a gene is damaged or changed in any way
• Mutations can range in size: affecting anywhere from a single DNA building block to a large portion of a chromosome
• Mutations can be beneficial, neutral, or harmful for the organism, and are mostly random

Important Vocabulary to know:

• Addition (insertion)
• Deletion
• Substitution
• Mutagen 
• Frameshift mutation
• Somatic

Types of mutations:

There are three types of mutations:

• Addition
• Deletion
• Insertion 

-Addition (also known as insertion) is when one or more nucleotide base pairs are inserted into the    DNA sequence, This is a type of frameshift mutation.
   *A frameshift mutation a genetic mutation caused by insertions or deletions of a number of    nucleotides in a DNA sequence that is not divisible by three, frameshift mutations are bad
-Deletion is the removal of one or more nucleotides in a DNA sequence, also a type of frameshift      mutation
-Substitution is a mutation that exchanges one or more bases for another, this can result in a different   amino acid codon reading

Causes of mutation:

• Mutations can be caused by a mistake in copying the DNA or by exposure to certain environmental facts
• Hereditary mutations are inherited from a parent and are present during their life

                 Ex:) cystic fibrosis, color blindness, and sickle cell anemia

•   Somatic mutations occur some time during a person’s life and are present in certain cells, not in every cell in the body. These can't occur in the sex cells so they aren't inherited

Deletion

Substitution 

Addition (or insertion)

Reflection:

I learned a lot about the causes of mutations. I also learned the different effects of mutations, and which ones cause cancer. I already knew the basics of this topic but I learned about it more in depth. I was surprised that there weren't more causes for these mutations. 

Citations:

"What types of mutation are there?" Facts. The Public Engagement team at the Wellcome Genome Campus, 25 Jan. 2016. Web. 08 May 2017.

"What is a DNA Mutation?" DNA Services UNLIMITED. N.p., 26 Aug. 2016. Web. 08 May 2017.

The causes of mutations. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 May 2017.

"What is a gene mutation and how do mutations occur? - Genetics Home Reference." U.S. National Library of Medicine. National Institutes of Health, n.d. Web. 08 May 2017.