Questions tagged [mutations]
A change in an organism's genomic sequence.
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A mutation question from the Indian National Biology Olympiad
DNA was isolated from wild type (Gal+) and mutant (Gal-) E. coli cells and separated by density gradient centrifugation technique. DNA from Gal- strain acquired a lower position. This indicates that ...
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Would an enrichment of pyrimidine runs of two of more nucleotides be an early indicator of DNA to be damaged?
I am analysing two categories of protein coding genes comparing their relative characteristics. What I am observing is that one of these, in comparison to the other, is enriched in pyrimidine runs (...
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34 views
How does a mutation in the P53 gene cause resistance to apoptosis in a tumor cell?
I need help understanding the following questions:
How does a mutation in the p53 gene cause resistance to apoptosis in a tumor cell?
Why does a mutation in a tumor suppressor gene lead to the ...
0
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0answers
18 views
Estimate mutation rate in UVC treated cells
I am wondering how to get a coarse estimate of the number of mutation I obtain doing UVC treatment on eukaryotic cells (microalgae) starting from information such as the survival rate, genome size, ...
0
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1answer
64 views
At what point during an organism’s lifespan do mutations occur?
I’m a software developer and I’m implementing something called a Genetic Algorithm. I would like some input on when during an organism’s lifespan mutations occur.
Genes mutate throughout the lifetime ...
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0answers
36 views
When cancer is detectable, how many sub-clones are there at that stage?
I have read somewhere that cancer is detectable when the number of cells reaches $10^7 - 10^9$, which probably varies according to the specific tumor. At this early stage, what is the expected number ...
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1answer
44 views
Are probabilities of mutations symmetric?
For the premise of this quiestion let's assume that there is an allele A and an allele B. The allele A has a probability P to mutate into the allele B in the given timeframe.
Is it also true that the ...
0
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1answer
118 views
Is natural selection actually random?
In the Theory of Evolution, two main factors take place:
One is random, which are the different mutations that organisms' DNA suffer. This process adds genetic variability to a given population.
The ...
0
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0answers
15 views
How do the CFTR alleles interact within an individual with Cystic Fibrosis when mutations of different classes are present?
So mutations in CF are classified by the severity of the impact on the production of the CFTR.
But an individual may have two different CFTR mutations.
I assume that the least severe mutation of the ...
1
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1answer
47 views
De novo mutation selectivity
I was recently reading about genetic diseases and came to understand that many of them are caused by de novo mutations in the prezygotic or early embryonic stages of the life cycle of the organism. ...
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1answer
32 views
gene inversion and DNA directionality
The directionality of the DNA goes from the 3-prime end to the 5-prime end.
Thus, the inversion of a gene would connect a 5-prime to a 5-prime. How could that be?
Maybe inverting a gene also ...
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1answer
74 views
Are there known chains of beneficial mutations?
Are there known examples of chains of beneficial mutations?
What I mean by that is a mutation that leads to a series of mutations occurring after each other over a relatively short period of time ...
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1answer
22 views
Can mutation take place in G1 and G2 phases during the cell cycle?
We know that the DNA replicates during the S phase in Interphase. There it might undergo a number of mutations. We also know that the forward half strands are more susceptible to undergoing a mutation ...
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1answer
27 views
Why the major gene model can be supported by finding de novo mutations in affected cases?
I found a sentence which I can't fully understand in a publication on the genetics of autism.
The unified major gene model is supported by the significant increase
in damaging de novo mutations ...
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2answers
41 views
Exact definition of homoplasy?
I am a poor mathematician looking into the Sars-Cov-2 genome. Is there a proper definition of the word homoplasy? Is it just mutations that happened independently or does there have to be indications ...
2
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1answer
86 views
Technical term for a mutation that only occurs after a preceding one
Consider a hypothetical population of 1000 organisms.
(a) 300 of these 1000 have a T to G substitution at a specific position 1.
(b) 200 of these 1000 have an A to T substitution at a second ...
1
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1answer
35 views
How can a homozygous mutation, considered pathogenic, occur on a gene such as HFE without the disease developing?
What happens when you have a homozygous mutation on a gene (eg. a swapped base), that is considered pathogenic, but without developing the disease?
It it were a heterozygous mutation I would get it, ...
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0answers
25 views
Radiation mutation breeding in plant seeds: practical aspects
I did read some seed irradiation papers and they all use Gy as unit of measure, however I have never seen seed weights reported.
How did they calculate that, since Gy is J/kg?
Differencies aside ...
0
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0answers
31 views
Is it possible to force Sars-Cov-2 virus to mutate?
The title may definitely be a stupid question since I have no background in biology. I would like to know if the coronaviruses or any other can be manipulated artificially so that they stop spreading ...
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1answer
44 views
Genetic mutations in plants
I am trying to plant some trees which are usually native to colder climates into Subtropical climate, is there any possibility that if i plant these 20 trees saplings in winters they will grow to be a ...
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1answer
110 views
What is the probablity that SARS-CoV-2 will mutate? [closed]
In many epidemic/pandemic situations, a lot of time the pathogen in question will mutate. For reference, this is the definition of mutation taken from Wiki:-
A mutation is an alteration in the ...
2
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2answers
117 views
What's the difference between mutation and substitution rates?
The Wikipedia section on substitution rates (shown below) isn't clear to me. What's the precise definition and difference between mutation and substitution rates, and how do they relate to each other?
...
2
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1answer
113 views
Viral mutation rates and replication
TL;DR
What's the relationship between the following?
Mutation rates (expressed as "mutations per year" for a virus like e.g. COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2). E.g. this article mentions "The rate ...
2
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1answer
292 views
Is Covid-19 likely to mutate into a deadlier form?
When the Spanish influenza hit in 1918, it struck in two waves. The first wave was typical for a flu virus, targetting mainly elderly people, but the second wave was far deadlier and killed far more ...
2
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1answer
84 views
If mutations are random, why do antibiotics 'cause' resistance?
Full disclosure: I am not a biologist and this is more of a general question about understanding antibiotic resistance of bacteria.
We are always told that careless antibiotics use is the cause of ...
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1answer
42 views
Poor Hygiene vs. Cross-species transmission?
Did a poor hygiene at wet Chinese markets add anything to equation to trigger critical mutation of COVID-19 helping it to transmit the virus from bats/pangolins to humans?
If not, would it spread to ...
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1answer
8k views
How many times has SARS-CoV-2 mutated?
According to
Coronavirus has mutated at least once
The novel coronavirus that has infected thousands of people across the
world may have mutated at least once — meaning there may be two
...
0
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1answer
83 views
Whether de novo mutation can be inherited or not?
Think about the following scenario: A child is diagnosed as having long QT syndrome, an autosomal dominant disease. However, neither of his parents is affected. This may be due to a new mutation in ...
2
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2answers
206 views
Can Coronaviridae mutate into something as dangerous as Flioviridae? [closed]
Can coronaviruses mutate to an extent to get as dangerous as fliovirusues such as Marburg viruses, Ravn or Ebola Zaire?
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1answer
34 views
Is the frequency at which a species mutate affected by natural selection? [duplicate]
As per natural selection, is it safe to assume that some species will have it genetically encoded so that they produce a certain 'perfect' rate of mutation so that they can adapt to an environment ...
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2answers
2k views
Are all carcinogens mutagens?
I assume that all carcinogens must be mutagens, but I've read that this is not the case. However, I can't find any good examples or an explanation of why it is not the case.
How can a non-mutagenic ...
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1answer
45 views
KRAS gene and K-Ras Mutations
This question pertains to the KRAS wikipedia page, and I just want to double check and clarify my own understanding of how this mutation works in cancer.
It states:
K-Ras protein acts like a switch ...
2
votes
1answer
21 views
Is there a difference between splice-site mutations, and non-stop mutations
I'm working on a bioinformatics project where a lot of the biology I've had to learn from scratch. From my current understanding, a non-stop mutation alters a stop codon such that the transcription ...
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0answers
43 views
Is it possible to buy a DNA sample with a specific mutation?
I would like to test a genotyping method (ARMS) on a specific human snp (heterozygous or homozygous ).
Unfortunally, we do not have any dna samples with the mutation.
Is it possible to buy somewhere a ...
8
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1answer
113 views
Who invented dN/dS?
I am writing a paper, and I want to refer to the original paper that coined the term dN/dS (or Ka/Ks for that matter). I have found early works on dN and dS (like Miyata and Yasunaga 1980), but cannot ...
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4answers
113 views
Why do mutations not take place in mRNA of higher eukaryotes?
Is it because it is too short-lived to be mutated? Both DNA and RNA are nucleic acids so how is mRNA protected? RNA viruses undergo mutations to evolve so I guess it is not immune to mutations
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0answers
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How many kangaroos would you have to add to a northern climate before they could start adapting to it? [closed]
If some enterprising billionaire wanted to introduce Kangaroos to a northern climate such as the northern boreal forest by Fort McMurray in Alberta, would it be possible for the Kangaroo's to survive ...
0
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1answer
44 views
Non-coding DNA as a protection to deleterious mutations
We know that most part of our genome (at least 75 percent) is non-coding DNA. Can it be a way to protect the organism from mutations in important genes, such as the ones which control cellular cycle, ...
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0answers
48 views
Is UV radiation more likely to cause mutations during mitosis?
According to Life: The Science of Biology (10th edition), UV radiation might cause the formation of pyrimidine dimers, which are the primary cause of skin cancer in humans.
Are mutations more likely ...
3
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1answer
150 views
Explain to a layperson how cigarettes smoke might cause cancer
I have a very intelligent friend who is a light smoker, and also a Biology layperson.
I wondered whether understanding exactly how cigarettes smoke can cause cancer, might encourage him to smoke less ...
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2answers
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Meaning of letter “c” in description of mutation: “Homozygous c.195C>G; (p.Cys65Trp)”
In a table in a paper titled Cerebral folate deficiency: Analytical tests and differential diagnosis, there's the following description of a mutation in a patient:
Homozygous c.195C>G; (p.Cys65Trp)...
3
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1answer
73 views
Emergence of novel protein interactions by mutation of amino acids
Are there any examples of proteins that, without coming from a recent duplication event, underwent a mutation(s) that caused it to have a novel interaction with a new ligand, substrate, other protein ...
0
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2answers
185 views
Are Males the main evolutionary tool for production of genetic variation necessary for evolution?
What I'm saying here is just a personal reflection, that might turn to be gravely erroneous, actually I'm asking that because I didn't see it presented elsewhere.
Evolution is propelled by two ...
2
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1answer
88 views
Can threat to survival increase mutation rates in germline cells?
Can stress that is related to a threat of survival of a population of animals or plants in some environment, like due to hunger, thirst, fear from predators, etc..; results in an increase in average ...
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0answers
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Is there a known mutation of an insertion type that prevents being infected by a virus?
Recently there was big news about the mutation CCR5 delta 32, that prevents HIV from infecting white blood cells, that was a deletion type of a mutation.
Do we know of an insertion type of mutation ...
6
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1answer
68 views
How does bonding between non-complementary bases occur?
My teacher told me that when DNA polymerase makes an error (roughly every 10 million nucleotides?) that if, for example, it matches an A with a G that the error remains and is the main cause of point ...
2
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1answer
47 views
Does the mutation CCR5-delta 32 increase the genetic info?
My understanding is that the mutation CCR5-delta 32 caused the CCR5 co-receptor to be of a different shape, resulting HIV virus to not be able to attach itself to it.
My question, this shape/mutation,...
4
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2answers
327 views
If bacterial resistance randomly occur, then why limit broad-spectrum antibiotic use?
If there is importance to study some discipline, then one of the main matters is its applications, so besides the primary goal of knowing the truth of the matter regarding what that discipline is ...
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Is evolution theory falsifiable by whether mutations result in a loss or gain of genetic information? [closed]
If I understand the theory correctly, evolution revolves around the process of adaptation of a being to its environment which results in the increment of survival and reproduction chances for that ...
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2answers
87 views
How do transgenic transformations cause off-target phenotypes?
I read that transgene insertions can cause off-target mutations that result in a phenotype being overly ascribed to the transgene, e.g. the increase of lifespan being ascribed to Sir2 overexpression (...
