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Related Concept Videos

Spontaneous and Induced Mutations01:30

Spontaneous and Induced Mutations

Spontaneous mutations arise infrequently during DNA replication due to errors in the process. A key factor behind these errors is tautomeric shifts in nitrogenous bases, where bases transition from keto to enol forms or amino to imino forms. This shift can alter base-pairing rules, leading to mutations. Additionally, reactive oxygen species (ROS) arising from aerobic metabolism can damage DNA, resulting in depurination (loss of a purine base) or depyrimidination (loss of a pyrimidine base).
Mismatch Repair01:20

Mismatch Repair

Organisms are capable of detecting and fixing nucleotide mismatches that occur during DNA replication. This sophisticated process requires identifying the new strand and replacing the erroneous bases with correct nucleotides. Mismatch repair is coordinated by many proteins in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes.
The Mutator Protein Family Plays a Key Role in DNA Mismatch Repair
The human genome has more than 3 billion base pairs of DNA per cell. Prior to cell division, that vast amount of genetic...
Mismatch Repair01:36

Mismatch Repair

Overview
Mutations in Microorganisms01:18

Mutations in Microorganisms

Mutations are heritable changes in an organism’s genome involving alterations in the base sequence of DNA or RNA. These changes can influence cellular processes and phenotypic traits, potentially transforming the unaltered wild type into a mutant form. Such changes, termed forward mutations, are pivotal in shaping the genetic diversity of organisms.RNA viruses exhibit the highest mutation rates due to the absence of robust proofreading mechanisms during genome replication. In contrast,...
Mutations01:35

Mutations

Mutations are changes in the sequence of DNA. These changes can occur spontaneously or they can be induced by exposure to environmental factors. Mutations can be characterized in a number of different ways: whether and how they alter the amino acid sequence of the protein, whether they occur over a small or large area of DNA, and whether they occur in somatic cells or germline cells.
Chromosomal Alterations Are Large-Scale Mutations
While point mutations are changes in a single nucleotide in...
Mutations01:39

Mutations

Overview

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 15, 2026

Gene-targeted Random Mutagenesis to Select Heterochromatin-destabilizing Proteasome Mutants in Fission Yeast
07:18

Gene-targeted Random Mutagenesis to Select Heterochromatin-destabilizing Proteasome Mutants in Fission Yeast

Published on: May 15, 2018

Non-random mutation: the evolution of targeted hypermutation and hypomutation.

Iñigo Martincorena1, Nicholas M Luscombe

  • 1Cancer Research UK London Research Institute, London, UK. martinco@ebi.ac.uk

Bioessays : News and Reviews in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology
|January 3, 2013
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Organisms can evolve local mutation rates, with hypermutation at beneficial sites and hypomutation at deleterious sites. Repair mechanisms linked to transcription or chromatin can overcome genetic drift, enabling non-random mutation rates across the genome.

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Assessing Somatic Hypermutation in Ramos B Cells after Overexpression or Knockdown of Specific Genes
08:12

Assessing Somatic Hypermutation in Ramos B Cells after Overexpression or Knockdown of Specific Genes

Published on: November 1, 2011

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 15, 2026

Gene-targeted Random Mutagenesis to Select Heterochromatin-destabilizing Proteasome Mutants in Fission Yeast
07:18

Gene-targeted Random Mutagenesis to Select Heterochromatin-destabilizing Proteasome Mutants in Fission Yeast

Published on: May 15, 2018

Assessing Somatic Hypermutation in Ramos B Cells after Overexpression or Knockdown of Specific Genes
08:12

Assessing Somatic Hypermutation in Ramos B Cells after Overexpression or Knockdown of Specific Genes

Published on: November 1, 2011

Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Genetics
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • The central dogma of evolutionary biology posits random mutations.
  • However, mutation rates vary across genomes and can be influenced by selection.
  • Targeted hypermutation mechanisms exist in diverse organisms.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review evolutionary forces driving local mutation rate variation.
  • To identify limiting factors in the evolution of mutation rates.
  • To explore mechanisms for non-random mutation patterns.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of evolutionary biology and genetics.
  • Analysis of theoretical models for mutation rate evolution.
  • Examination of molecular mechanisms linking repair to genome features.

Main Results:

  • Both targeted hypermutation and hypomutation can evolve.
  • Hypermutation is favored at loci under strong positive selection.
  • Hypomutation evolution is constrained by genetic drift, but can be facilitated by repair-associated proteins.

Conclusions:

  • Local mutation rates can evolve in response to fitness effects.
  • Genetic drift poses a significant limit to adaptive hypomutation.
  • Association of repair with transcription or chromatin offers a pathway for non-random hypomutation.