Mutation

Definition

In biology, a mutation is an alteration in the nucleic acid sequence of the genome of an organism, virus, or extrachromosomal DNA. Mutations result from errors during replication, mitosis, meiosis, or damage to DNA, which then may trigger error-prone repair or cause an error during replication. Mutations may also result from substitution, insertion or deletion of segments of DNA due to mobile genetic elements.

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Bustamante Cat eye syndrome Cat gap Catagenesis (biology)Catastrophism Cell division Cell nucleus Charles Darwin Cheating (biology)Chromosomal crossover Chromosomal inversion Chromosomal rearrangement Chromosomal translocation Chromosome Chromosome 1 Chromosome 11 Chromosome 13 Chromosome 15 Chromosome 15 (human)Chromosome 17 Chromosome 2 Chromosome 21 Chromosome 22 Chromosome 4 Chromosome 5 Chromosome 5q deletion syndrome Chromosome 7 Chromosome abnormality Cladistics Cladogenesis Classical genetics Coding region Coevolution Collagen, type I, alpha 1 Colour Colour vision Common descent Compound heterozygosity Cone cell Congenital adrenal hyperplasia Conservation genetics Conservative mutation Convergent evolution Cooperation (evolution)Cospeciation Covalent Cre-Lox recombination Cri du chat syndrome Critical mutation rate Crosslinking of DNA Cultural evolution Cultural group selection Cystic fibrosis Cytogenetics Cytosine DNA DNA adduct DNA damage-inducible transcript 3 DNA damage (naturally occurring)DNA oxidation DNA repair DNA repair-deficiency disorder DNA replication DNA sequencing Darwinism David Hume DbDNV Deamination Death Deborah Charlesworth Deep sequencing Deep time Degeneracy (biology)Deletion (genetics)Delta (letter)Depurination Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans Desmoplastic small-round-cell tumor DiGeorge syndrome Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion Diazo Dinosaur Distal 18q-Distal trisomy 10q Divergent evolution Domestication of the dog Dominance (genetics)Down syndrome Drosophila Dual inheritance theory Dynamic mutation ENU Earliest known life forms Ecogenetics Ecological genetics Ecological speciation Effective population size Embryology Empathy Encyclopedia of Earth Endomembrane system Eocene Epidermolysis bullosa Epistasis Ernst Freese Escherichia coli Essential gene Ethidium bromide Ethnic groups in Europe Etiology Eukaryote Eukaryotic Europe Evidence of common descent Evolution Evolution of Macropodidae Evolution of ageing Evolution of bacteria Evolution of biological complexity Evolution of birds Evolution of brachiopods Evolution of butterflies Evolution of cells Evolution of cephalopods Evolution of cetaceans Evolution of color vision Evolution of color vision in primates Evolution of emotion Evolution of eusociality Evolution of fish Evolution of flagella Evolution of fungi Evolution of insects Evolution of lemurs Evolution of mammalian auditory ossicles Evolution of mammals Evolution of molluscs Evolution of morality Evolution of nervous systems Evolution of primates Evolution of reptiles Evolution of sexual reproduction Evolution of sirenians Evolution of snake venom Evolution of spiders Evolution of tetrapods Evolution of the brain Evolution of the eye Evolution of the horse Evolution of the wolf Evolutionarily stable strategy Evolutionary arms race Evolutionary biology Evolutionary developmental biology Evolutionary dynamics Evolutionary ethics Evolutionary history of plants Evolutionary ideas of the Scientific Revolution and Enlightenment Evolutionary invasion analysis Evolutionary medicine Evolutionary mismatch Evolutionary pressure Evolutionary taxonomy Evolutionary tradeoff Ewing sarcoma Exaptation Exponential decay Extended evolutionary synthesis Extinction Extinction event Extracellular matrix Extrachromosomal DNA FBN1 FLI1 Fertilization Fisher's geometric model Fisher's principle Fitness (biology)Fluctuation Test Follicular lymphoma Forkhead box protein O1 Fragile X syndrome Frameshift mutation Francisco J. Ayala Fusion gene Gamete Gametogenesis Gamma ray Gene Gene-centered view of evolution Gene duplication Gene expression Gene family Gene flow Gene pool Gene product Genetic assimilation Genetic code Genetic disorder Genetic drift Genetic engineering Genetic recombination Genetic testing Genetic variation Geneticist Genetics Genome Genome Research Genomic DNA Genomic imprinting Genomics Germ cell Germline Germline mutation Gitelman syndrome Glioblastoma Glycoprotein Grafting Group selection Gustavo Caetano-Anolles H. Allen Orr HIV Haemoglobin Hair Handicap principle Haploinsufficiency Heredity History of evolutionary thought History of genetics History of life History of molecular evolution History of paleontology Hologenome theory of evolution Homeobox Homininae Homology (biology)Human evolution Human eye Human genome Human somatic variation Huntington's Disease Outreach Project for Education at Stanford Huntington's disease Hybrid (biology)Hybrid speciation Hydrogen Hydrolysis Hydroxylamine Hyena Hypoxanthine IGH@Immune system Immunogenetics In Our Time (radio series)In vivo Inbreeding Inbreeding avoidance Inclusive fitness Index of evolutionary biology articles Index of genetics articles Indigenous peoples Insertion (genetics)Intein Intercalation (biochemistry)Introduction to evolution Introduction to genetics Intron Inversion (evolutionary biology)Ionizing radiation Jacobsen syndrome James R. Lupski Janet Thornton John H. Gillespie Jonathan K. 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Ryan Gregory TAR syndrome TILLING (molecular biology)Tautomer Taxon Teleology in biology Teleonomy Tempo and Mode in Evolution Tetrasomy Tetrasomy 9p Tetrasomy X The Neutral Theory of Molecular Evolution The eclipse of Darwinism Theistic evolution Thymine Timeline of the evolutionary history of life Tn10 Tobacco smoking Transcription (biology)Transcription (genetics)Transgenerational epigenetic inheritance Transition (genetics)Transitional fossil Translation (biology)Translesion synthesis Transmutation of species Transposable element Transposon mutagenesis Transversion Trinucleotide repeat expansion Trisomy Trisomy 16 Trisomy 18 Trisomy 22 Trisomy 8 Trisomy 9 Trisomy X Trivers–Willard hypothesis Tulip Turner syndrome U.C. 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