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<span> 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.
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A single germ line mutation can have a range of effects:
<span><span>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.</span><span>Small change occurs in phenotype.
A single mutation caused this cat's ears to curl backwards slightly.</span><span>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.</span></span>
