spontaneous mutation


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Related to spontaneous mutation: induced mutation

spon·ta·ne·ous mu·ta·tion

a mutation that arises naturally and not as a result of exposure to mutagens.
Synonym(s): natural mutation

spon·ta·ne·ous mu·ta·tion

(spon-tā'nē-ŭs myū-tā'shŭn)
A mutation that arises naturally and not as a result of exposure to mutagens.

spontaneous mutation

a MUTATION occurring in the absence of a known mutagen. In humans, a typical rate of spontaneous mutation is between 1× 10-5 and 1×10-6 mutations per gamete formed. The rate varies considerably between different organisms, perhaps reflecting different DNA repair systems at work.
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References in periodicals archive ?
Recent studies with Drosophila have shown that the fitness effects of spontaneous mutations are strongly environment dependent and exhibit strong Renotype x environment interaction (Kondrashov and Houle 1994; Fry et al.
Mutation, selection, and the maintenance of life-history variation in a natural population
These diseases are unlikely to be due to spontaneous mutations, since two mutations have to occur to produce the disease.
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Researchers had previously assumed these spontaneous mutations occurred randomly in the population.
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A constant rate of spontaneous mutation in DNA-based microbes.
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Forty-five years ago, a spontaneous mutation in a then-unknown mouse gene caused some extraordinarily obese mice to appear in the breeding colonies of Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine.
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By irradiating plants, scientists can accelerate their natural spontaneous mutation and select strains to suit particular conditions.
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The properties of the spontaneous mutation process, considered as the source of quantitative genetic variation, are central to evolutionary theory.
The rate and effects distribution of viability mutation in Drosophila: minimum distance estimation
In parallel, experiments have been carried out to provide estimates of parameters needed for prediction, particularly the input of variation and covariation due to spontaneous mutation per generation, quantified by the mutational variances and covariances.
Spontaneous mutational genotype-environment interaction for fitness-related traits in Drosophila melanogaster
In our model, we assumed an effective spontaneous mutation rate for praziquantel resistance of [10.sup.-6].
Evidence Against Rapid Emergence of Praziquantel Resistance in Schistosoma haematobium, Kenya
1991), spontaneous mutation would not be expected to affect the outcome of measures of rifampicin resistance.
Amelioration of the deleterious pleiotropic effects of an adaptive mutation in Bacillus subtilis
We report detection of subtype H1N1 virus isolates that became resistant to amantadine and oseltamivir because of genetic reassortment and spontaneous mutation.
Oseltamivir- and amantadine-resistant influenza viruses A (H1N1)
These individuals had no family history of autism, meaning the genetic cause of their condition was probably spontaneous mutations rather than inherited mutations.
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