5anintroductiontogeneticanalysis.docVIP

 HYPERLINK javascript:BVShow(iga) An Introduction to Genetic Analysis Chapter 15 Gene Mutation PAGE  PAGE 35 勇者并非无所畏惧，而是能判断出有比恐惧更重要的东西. Chapter 15 Gene MutationKey Concepts Mutation is the process whereby genes change from one allelic form to another. Forward mutations are changes away from the wild-type allele, and reverse mutations are changes to the wild-type allele. Mutations can lead to loss of function of a gene or to new function. Mutations in germ-line cells can be transmitted to progeny, but somatic mutations cannot. Selective systems make it easier to obtain mutations. Mutagens are agents that increase normally low rates of mutation. Genes mutate randomly, at any time and in any cell of an organism. A biological process can be dissected genetically if mutations that affect that process can be obtained. Each gene identified by a mutation identifies a separate component of the process. Introduction Genetic analysis would not be possible without variants—organisms that differ in some particular character. We have considered many examples in which we could analyze differing phenotypes for particular characters. Now we consider the origin of the variants. How, in fact, do genetic variants arise? The simple answer to this question is that organisms have an inherent tendency to undergo change from one hereditary state to another. Such hereditary change is called  HYPERLINK /books/bv.fcgi?rid=iga.glossdiv.6085 \l 5117 mutation. Geneticists recognize two different levels at which mutation takes place. In  HYPERLINK /books/bv.fcgi?rid=iga.glossdiv.6080 \l 4879 gene mutation, an allele of a gene changes, becoming a different allele. Because such a change takes place within a single gene and maps to one chromosomal locus (“point”), a gene mutation is sometimes called a  HYPERLINK /books/bv.fcgi?rid=iga.glossdiv.6088 \l 5219 point mutation. At the other level of hereditary change— HYPERLINK /books/bv.fcgi?rid=iga.glossdiv.6076 \l 4663 chromosome