In this article we will discuss about the history and induction of mutations. History of Mutation: The sudden heritable changes in genes, other than those due to Mendelian segregation and recombination constitute mutations. The idea of mutation first originated from observations of a Dutch botanist Hugo de Vries (in the 1880's) on variations in plants of Oenothera lamarckiana (evening primrose) [...]
In this article we will discuss about the chemical and physical types of mutagens. 1. Chemical Mutagens: Singer and Kusmierek (1982) have published an excellent review on chemical mutagenesis. Some of the chemical mutagens and mutagenesis are given in Table 9.3, and described below: i. Base Analogues: A base analogue is a chemical compound similar to one of the four [...]
In this article we will discuss about:- 1. Origin of Spontaneous Mutations 2. Evidence for Spontaneous Mutation 3. Random Nature 4. Mutation Rates. Origin of Spontaneous Mutations: Mutation involves changes in DNA. Several mechanisms are known that bring about alterations in DNA. These modifications may arise from error in DNA replication, damage to DNA from radiation. Errors occur during replication [...]