When an infant is born with gene mutations in his cells, the nurse explains to the parents that accidental errors may be a result of: Select all that apply

Question

A) Loss of one or more base pairs
B) Substitution of one base pair for another
C) Induction of chromatin to change its structure
D) Rearrangement of the base pairs

Answer 1

Ans: A, B, D
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Genetic mutations occur in germ cells (inherited errors) or somatic cells. Germ cell mutations can be spontaneous or an error of base pair deletion, substitution of one pair for a different pair, or rearrangement of the sequence of base pairs. Somatic cell mutations affect a cell line that differentiates into tissue types. Although solving the structural problem of how to fit a huge amount of DNA into the nucleus, the chromatin fiber, when complexed with histones and packaged into various levels of compaction, makes the DNA inaccessible during the processes of replication and gene expression. To accommodate these processes, chromatin must be induced to change its structure, a process called chromatin remodeling.