Gene mutations are sudden changes that occur in genes, that is, it is the process by which a gene undergoes a structural change. Mutations are distinguished from aberrations in that they are changes at the point level, involving the elimination or replacement of one or a few nucleotides in the DNA strand.
The addition or subtraction of bases alters the genetic code, defined by the sequence of three adjacent bases in the mRNA, and consequently it can change the type of amino acid included in the protein chain and, ultimately, it can change the phenotypic expression.
The replacement of a purine (adenine and guanine) with another purine, or a pyrimidine (cytosine and thymine) with another pyrimidine is called a transition. The replacement of a purine with a pyrimidine, or vice versa, is called transversion.
The genetic derivative is one of the basic mechanisms of evolution, associated with natural selection, activated and mutated. This mechanism, especially important in small threats, can be defined as a change in allele frequencies that occurs in a totally random manner. Although it also uses the genetic makeup of a population, it can differentiate natural selection by not producing adaptations
In the case of natural selection, the gene that passes on to the next generation is the one that provided a better adaptation to the environment. In genetic drift, the gene that passed on to the next generation was the one that was most “lucky”.
