Chapter 15

Point Mutations: Mutations are spontaneous and occur without exposure to known
mutagen and the rates are very low

Point mutations are induced and occur with exposure to known mutagens

Radiation and chemicals

Types: Single-nucleotide substitutions:

-transitions: purine to purine or pyrim to pyrim

transversions: purine to pyrimidine A-T

indels: insertions or deletions

Origins of spontaneous mutations- the Lurin-Delbruck experiments are

advantageous mutations induced by environmental conditions, or are they random?

Large bacterial culture plated aliquots and 20 plates

20 small bacterial cultures and plated each of those

both were inoculated with phage

If induced: no difference in mean or variance of resistant colony nums

If spontaneous: little plate to plate variation in large culture and lots of plate to plate
variation in small cultures. The scientists found that the mutations were
spontaneous.

Sources of mutations- spontaneous depurination [complete removal of purine base]

Also, sponataneous deamination [methylated C to U

DNA repair mechanisms