AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -A single mutation can have a large effect, but in many cases, evolutionary change is based on the accumulation of many mutations with small effects. Mutational effects can be beneficial, harmful, or neutral, depending on their context or location. Most non-neutral mutations are deleterious.

Detailed explanation-2: -Most gene mutations have no effect on health. And the body can repair many mutations. Some mutations are even helpful. For example, people can have a mutation that protects them from heart disease or gives them harder bones.

Detailed explanation-3: -It is well-known that most mutations arise spontaneously and they are, in general, either harmful or neutral. However, only a rare few are advantageous to the organism, as they increase its viability and reproductive ability (Darwinian fitness).

Detailed explanation-4: -Mutations can be neutral, harmful, or beneficial, though the neutral theory of molecular evolution predicts that most mutations are “nearly” neutral or only slightly deleterious, while beneficial mutations-which confer a survival advantage on an organism and, if it reproduces, on its progeny-are quite rare.

Detailed explanation-5: -Mutations result when the DNA sequence in an organism changes and are the main cause of diversity in organisms. Proteins are complex molecules that play a critical role in organisms. Mutations in the DNA sequence can lead to changes in protein structure. Some mutations can be beneficial.