What is a mutation?

What is a mutation?

• A. A change in the genetic material or nitrogen base sequence of a cell
• B. A harmless variation
• C. A type of protein
• D. An RNA molecule

Answer: (A)

Mutation is a change in the genetic material, typically a change in the nucleotide sequence of DNA (or RNA in some organisms). This alteration can arise from replication errors, exposure to mutagens, or recombination, and it can affect how a gene works or how its expression is regulated. It’s not merely a harmless variation, since mutations can be neutral, beneficial, or harmful. It’s also not a protein or an RNA molecule itself—the mutation is the change in the genetic material, not the product.

Mutation is a change in the genetic material, typically a change in the nucleotide sequence of DNA (or RNA in some organisms). This alteration can arise from replication errors, exposure to mutagens, or recombination, and it can affect how a gene works or how its expression is regulated. It’s not merely a harmless variation, since mutations can be neutral, beneficial, or harmful. It’s also not a protein or an RNA molecule itself—the mutation is the change in the genetic material, not the product.