The Nature of Mutations Most mutations is spontaneous and random. Whether a beneficial mutation occurs or not is a matter of chance. Although you may think mutations are rare, it depends on the scale and the organism. Mutation is rare for any individual nucleotide. However, at the level of the whole organism, the rate of mutation depends on the size of the genome and the number of cell divisions per generation of the organism. Use the dropdown menus in the table below to summarize the information in Figure 14.5 on page 305 of your textbook. Rate of mutation per Organism Genome size nucleotide per replication Rate of mutation per round genome per generation RNA viruses, retroviruses

What process has the ability to separate linked alleles? Compare and contrast ‘parental’ and ‘recombinant’ chromosomes. What is the basis for the relationship between offspring frequency and loci distance? 8. What is non-disjunction?

What is genetic linkage and what is the consequence of this physical arrangement of genes? How does it influence the inheritance of particular allele combinations?

What is an autosome? With respect to sex chromosomes, how many unique types of sperm can be produced? How about eggs? Be familiar with sex-linked inheritance patterns. 6. What is the consequence of having a different number of sex chromosomes for each sex in humans?

What was the basic approach Mendel took to studying inheritance patterns? What organism did he use? What characteristics make it a good model to study genetics? What is a true-breeding/purebred organism? What is self-fertilization? How is it different from cross-fertilization? What is the F1 generation? The F2? What were Mendel’s three main conclusions from his monohybrid experiments and how do they translate into what we know about genetics today?