Question

26. Describe the possible effects of a mutation on an organism. Describe an example for each

Answer 1

Mutation can be both beneficial and harmful.

A very common beneficial mutation is camouflage and natural selection. The organism will acquire the change and pass it on to their offspring.

A harmful mutation can be diseases or a common harmful mutation, Down syndrome. Which gives a person an extra chromosome.

Answer 2

Answer: Mutation can be both useful and harmful. It can show any type of effect on the body of the organism. This is because its effect is unpredictable.

Explanation:

It can be beneficial as as it can create genetic diversity in the population. This genetic diversity can help the organism survive in a better way.

Whereas, any mutation in the body which causes harmful syndromes or diseases are known as harmful mutation.

Example is Phenylketonuria and color-blindness and Tay-Sachs disease, among many others.