What is Gene Mutation?

A gene mutation is a change that occurs in our DNA

sequence, either due to mistakes when the DNA is copied or
as the result of environmental factors such as UV light and
cigarette smoke.

New alleles are formed by mutation

Gene mutations can be beneficial, detrimental or
neutral

Beneficial mutations change the gene sequence

(missense mutations) to create new variations of a
trait
Detrimental mutations truncate the gene sequence
(nonsense mutations) to abrogate the normal
function of a trait
Neutral mutations have no effect on the functioning
of the specific feature (silent mutations)

Point mutations are changes to one base in the DNA

code and may involve either:

The substitution of a base (e.g. ATG becomes ACG)

The insertion of a base (e.g. ATG becomes ATCG)
The deletion of a base (e.g. ATG becomes AG)
The inversion of bases (e.g. ATG becomes AGT)

Summary of the Different Types of Point Mutations