When a gene mutation occurs, the nucleotides are in the wrong order which means the coded instructions are wrong and faulty proteins are made or control switches are changed. The body can't function as it should. Mutations can be inherited from one or both parents. They are present in the egg and/ or sperm cells.
What type of mutation can affect offspring?
The only mutations that matter to large-scale evolution are those that can be passed on to offspring. These occur in reproductive cells like eggs and sperm and are called germ line mutations. No change occurs in phenotype. Some mutations don't have any noticeable effect on the phenotype of an organism.
Genetic alternations include chromosomal abnormalities and gene mutations. Chromosomal abnormalities generally arise during cell division. ... Gene mutations are permanent changes in DNA gene sequence. They can arise during normal DNA replication or in response to environmental factors.
