Question

Write short notes on gene mutation.

Answer 1

Gene mutations can be defined as the sudden and heritable changes in the sequence of nucleotides of genes in the DNA. The gene mutations can be of following types:

1. Deletion: It refers to the loss of the segment of nucleotides. Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disorder caused by deletion mutation.

2. Insertion: It refers to the addition of base pairs to the segment of the nucleotide. For example, Huntington's disease.

3. Substitution: It refers to the exchange of a base pair for another. When a purine is substituted with another purine or a pyrimidine is substituted with another pyrimidine, it is called transition mutation. When a purine is substituted with a pyrimidine or vice versa, it is called transversion.