The process of copying genetic information from DNA to RNA
Translation process
The process of using the genetic information in RNA to produce proteins
DNA
Its importance in protein synthesis
Genetic mutation can give superheroes their abilities
Mutation
A change in the DNA sequence of an organism
Mutagen
A chemical or physical agent capable of inducing changes in DNA
Types of mutation
Small-scale mutations (nucleotide mutations)
Large-scale mutations (chromosomal mutations)
Substitution
A nucleotide is replaced with a different nucleotide in the DNA sequence
Insertion
The addition of a nucleotide to the DNA sequence
Deletion
The removal of a nucleotide from the DNA sequence
Figures 1, 2, 3
Nucleotide mutations
Figures 4, 5
Chromosomal mutations
Duplication
The addition of one or more gene(s) that are already present in the chromosome
Inversion
The complete reversal of one or more gene(s) within a chromosome
Translocation
One or more gene(s) are removed from one chromosome and inserted into another nonhomologous chromosome
A mutation can be caused by errors during replication, exposure to radiation or chemicals, viruses, transposons (jumping genes), or mistakes made when repairing damage.
Most mutations have no effect on an organism's phenotype because they occur in non-coding regions of DNA or result in amino acid substitutions that do not affect protein function.
