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Types Of Mutation
Mutation is a change in the genetic sequence to change the characteristics from the parent code. A mutation is caused by two individual sets of genetic code or DNA and a new code is created using the combination of both the codes. There are several types of mutation that can take place in living organisms. |
Substitution is a process of mutation that completely exchanges the genetic code. Genes are always represented by capitalized alphabets. So, in substitution type of mutation, an A is exchanged with a G for example. That is one amino acid base pair in the DNA is substituted with another amino acid base pair literally. Substitution completely changes the characteristic, and it may also cause some problems.
Insertion is a type of mutation where an extra base pair is added in another part of the DNA. This results in the DNA code being extended.
Deletion is a process of mutation in which one base pair of the amino acid is actually deleted from the code. This results in the DNA sequence being shortened.
Another type of mutation is the frame shift which interchanges the code within the DNA itself. That is if ABC is a sequence it may become CBA. Similar changes occur in the entire code.
A DNA code is very long typically, and it can cover 4,000 pages if written alphabetically. Though scientists are about to name the different kinds of genes in the human DNA, it is impossible to identify which gene represents what characteristic. The consensus among the scientific community is that different traits and characteristics are controlled by number of genes, and not by one single gene. However, there are some pointers where some of the genes causing problems like sickle cell anemia have been identified. However, if a DNA code can be deciphered exactly, then it will be the greatest breakthrough in human genetic history again.
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