Question

Mutations are changes in the nucleotide sequence of DNA that_______.

a.Can be repaired by the cell.

b.Can occur spontaneously.

c.Can be passed on to future generations.

d.Can occur in somatic cells.

e.All of the above.

Answer 1

a, All the above

Cells have repair mechanisms to detect and correct many types of DNA damage. Repair processes that help fix damaged DNA include direct reversal, exision repair and double stranded break repair.

Spontaneous mutations are the result of errors in natural biological processes at low frequency owing to the chemical instability of purine and pyrimidine bases and to errors during DNA replication.

Mutations occuring in reproductive cells like eggs and sperm and are called germ line mutations. This type of mutations can be passed on to next generation.

Somatic mutations are mutations that occur in any of the cells of the body except the germ cells (sperm and egg).these mutations will not be passed on to next generation. These alterations can (but do not always) cause cancer or other diseases.