Question

What are some possible consequences of a mutation? Give a specific example for each consequence you list.

Answer 1

Since all cells in our body contain DNA, there are lots of places for mutations to occur; however, some mutations cannot be passed on to offspring and do not matter for evolution. Somatic mutations occur in non-reproductive cells and won't be passed onto offspring. For example, the golden color on half of this Red Delicious apple was caused by a somatic mutation. Its seeds will not carry the mutation.

A single germ line mutation can have a range of effects:

No change occurs in phenotype.
Some mutations don't have any noticeable effect on the phenotype of an organism. This can happen in many situations: perhaps the mutation occurs in a stretch of DNA with no function, or perhaps the mutation occurs in a protein-coding region, but ends up not affecting the amino acid sequence of the protein.Small change occurs in phenotype.
A single mutation caused this cat's ears to curl backwards slightly.Big change occurs in phenotype.
Some really important phenotypic changes, like DDT resistance in insects are sometimes caused by single mutations. A single mutation can also have strong negative effects for the organism. Mutations that cause the death of an organism are called lethals — and it doesn't get more negative than that.