Who are mutants? These are living organisms, in the DNA of which certain changes have occurred, which made them unlike their counterparts. How do mutations or errors occur in DNA, what effects can they have, and how do they affect the body as a whole?
What are mutations?
Have you ever wondered why you have brown hair and blue eyes, while your brother is blond and brown-eyed? It has to do with DNA, the genetic code that comes from our parents. Sometimes mistakes are made in the DNA as it replicates or is copied at the time of each cell division. When this happens, the process can affect our appearance and even behavior.
The DNA of an organism affects how it looks and behaves, its physiology. Changing DNA can cause metamorphosis in all aspects of life. We often think of mutations as something negative, but this is not always the case. These mistakes or changes in DNA are necessary for evolution. Without them, development could not take place. Usually mutations are not good or bad, they are just different.
Mutations create several different versions of the samegenetic information. They are called alleles. It is these differences that make each of us unique, creating variations in hair color, skin color, height, build, behavior and our ability to fight disease.
Variations that help an organism survive and reproduce are passed on to the next generation. And those that hinder an organism's ability to survive and reproduce cause the organism to drop out of the population-in other words, die. This process, called natural selection, can lead to important changes in appearance, behavior and physiology in just a few generations.
Types of mutations
There are many types of DNA errors. Mutations can be grouped into categories based on where they occur.
- Somatic mutations (acquired) occur in non-reproductive cells. Usually they are not passed on to offspring. However, they can change cell division.
- Gemline mutations occur in reproductive cells. These mutations are passed on to offspring. Albinism is an example.
- Mutations can also be classified according to the length of the nucleotide sequences they affect. Mutations at the gene level are changes in the short lengths of nucleotides. They affect physical characteristics and are important for large-scale evolution. For example, insects become resistant to the insecticide DDT after repeated exposure.
- Chromosomal mutations are changes in the long lengths of nucleotides. It hasserious consequences. An example is Down syndrome, where there are three copies of chromosome 21 instead of two. This significantly affects a person's appearance, level of development and behavior.
Who are mutants?
People often view mutations in a negative light. However, without mutations, we would not have rich color vision and other necessary features. Mutations are changes in your genetic code. DNA is the genetic material used to code for certain physical characteristics. It is made up of four different molecules called bases. These bases are represented by the letters A, T, C and G. The complete human genetic code contains billions of bases! When these base sequences change, this is called a mutation.
Some mutations can cause detrimental conditions such as Down's Syndrome or Klinefelter's Syndrome. However, many mutations are benign, and some don't matter because they exist in areas of DNA that are not actively used. For example, blue eyes are due to a change in a protein responsible for eye pigmentation. This is one example of a benign mutation.
Sometimes, however, a mutation will occur that gives the individual an advantage and is actually beneficial. Who are the mutants (see photo in the article)? In a certain sense, these are all living organisms.
Example of beneficial mutation
Beneficial mutations can be found in nature. For example, our color vision. AtHumans have trichromatic vision, meaning we can see three colors: red, green, and blue. Many animals have dichromatic or monochromatic vision and are unable to perceive all colors. This ability to see multiple hues is likely the result of a beneficial mutation that occurred in our DNA millions of years ago.
When you think of a mutant, do you think of sci-fi movies where mutated creatures become powerful and evil and then try to destroy the world? What are mutations really? These are changes in the DNA sequence of a cell. When a mutation occurs in the coding sequence of a gene, the resulting protein is changed.
Biological point of view
Who is a mutant in biology? For this science, as well as for genetics, a mutant is an organism or a new genetic phenomenon resulting from a mutation, which is a change in the DNA sequence of an organism's gene or chromosome. The natural occurrence of genetic mutations is an integral part of the evolutionary process. The study of mutants is an indispensable part of biology.
Mutants should not be confused with organisms born with developmental disabilities caused by errors in the process of morphogenesis. With an anomaly of development, the DNA of the organism remains unchanged, since the failure cannot be passed on to offspring. Siamese twins are the result of developmental anomalies. It's not a mutation. Chemicals that cause developmental abnormalities are called teratogens. They alsocan cause mutations, but their influence on development is not directly related to the process. Chemicals that cause mutations are called mutagens.
