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DNA and Mutations Webquest

http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/mutations_01

DNA and Mutations

1. What is a mutation? An abnormal change in DNA

2. What does DNA affect? How it looks and behaves

3. Without mutations, what would not occur? Abnormalities

DNA: The molecular basis of mutations

1. What is DNA? A long sequence of small units strung together and a set of instructions for your body

2. What are the four basic units of DNA? T,G,C,A

3. The sequence of these bases encodes __instuctions___________________.

4. Some parts of DNA are ______control centers____________ that carry

instructions for making _________proteins_____________ - which are long chains
of ________amino acids________________.

5. What are codons? Sets of 3 bases

6. The cellular machinery uses these instructions to ______assemble______________ a string of

corresponding amino acids.

7. What do “stop” codons signify?

Types of mutations

1. What is a substitution? When a base exchanges with another

2. What causes sickle cell anemia? A substitution inside the beta- hemoglobin gene

3. What are 3 things that a “substitution” mutation cause?

1. Change in condon that encodes different animo acids

2. Change in condon that encodes the same amino acid

 3change in amino acid condon
4. Copy the example of a substitution mutation. (left side of page )
a/g

5. What is an insertion mutation? Mutations which extra base pairs are interested into

6. Copy the example of a insertion TGG

7. What is a deletion? Mutations where part of DNA is lost

8. Copy the deletion example: no GG

9. What is a frameshift mutation? Alters gene

10. Copy the example of the frameshift mutation. No T

Causes of mutations

1. DNA fails to __________COPY ACCURATELY____ __________________.

2. External ___INFLUENCES__________________ can create

________MUTAIONS_________________. 3. What are two examples of

external influences? CHEMICALS AND RADIATION

The effects of mutations

1. Where may mutations occur? OFFSPRING

2. What are somatic mutations? NON REPRODUCTIVE CELLS

3. What are the only types of mutations that matter to large-scale evolution? THAT CAN PASS TO THE
OFFSPRING