Mutation frequency and

mutation rates In genetics, the mutation rate is the frequency of new mutations in a single gene or organism over time. Mutation rates are not constant and are not limited to a single type of mutation; there are many different types of mutations. Mutation rates ...

are highly correlated to each other. Mutation frequencies test are cost effective in laboratories however; these two concepts provide vital information in reference to accounting for the emergence of mutations on any given

germ line In biology and genetics, the germline is the population of a multicellular organism's cells that pass on their genetic material to the progeny (offspring). In other words, they are the cells that form the egg, sperm and the fertilised egg. They ...

. There are several test utilized in measuring the chances of mutation frequency and rates occurring in a particular gene pool. Some of the test are as follows: * Avida Digital Evolution Platform * Fluctuation Analysis Nishant, K., Singh, N., & Alani, E. (2009). Genomic mutation rates: what high-throughput methods can tell us. Bioessays, 31(9), 912-920. Mutation frequency and rates provide vital information about how often a mutation may be expressed in a particular genetic group or sex. Yoon et., 2009 suggested that as sperm donors ages increased the sperm mutation frequencies increased. This reveals the positive correlation in how males are most likely to contribute to genetic disorders that reside within X-linked recessive chromosome. There are additional factors affecting mutation frequency and rates involving evolutionary influences. Since, organisms may pass mutations to their offspring incorporating and analyzing the mutation frequency and rates of a particular species may provide a means to adequately comprehend its longevity

Aging

The time course of spontaneous mutation frequency from middle to late adulthood was measured in four different tissues of the mouse.Hill KA, Halangoda A, Heinmoeller PW, Gonzalez K, Chitaphan C, Longmate J, Scaringe WA, Wang JC, Sommer SS. Tissue-specific time courses of spontaneous mutation frequency and deviations in mutation pattern are observed in middle to late adulthood in Big Blue mice. Environ Mol Mutagen. 2005 Jun;45(5):442-54. doi: 10.1002/em.20119. PMID 15690342 Mutation frequencies in the

cerebellum The cerebellum (Latin for "little brain") is a major feature of the hindbrain of all vertebrates. Although usually smaller than the cerebrum, in some animals such as the mormyrid fishes it may be as large as or even larger. In humans, the cerebel ...

(90%

neuron A neuron, neurone, or nerve cell is an electrically excitable cell that communicates with other cells via specialized connections called synapses. The neuron is the main component of nervous tissue in all animals except sponges and placozoa. N ...

s) and male

germ cell Germ or germs may refer to: Science * Germ (microorganism), an informal word for a pathogen * Germ cell, cell that gives rise to the gametes of an organism that reproduces sexually * Germ layer, a primary layer of cells that forms during embry ...

s were lower than in liver and adipose tissue. Furthermore, the mutation frequencies increased with age in

liver The liver is a major Organ (anatomy), organ only found in vertebrates which performs many essential biological functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the Protein biosynthesis, synthesis of proteins and biochemicals necessary for ...

and

adipose tissue Adipose tissue, body fat, or simply fat is a loose connective tissue composed mostly of adipocytes. In addition to adipocytes, adipose tissue contains the stromal vascular fraction (SVF) of cells including preadipocytes, fibroblasts, vascular e ...

, whereas in the cerebellum and male germ cells the mutation frequency remained constant Dietary restricted rodents live longer and are generally healthier than their ad libitum fed counterparts. No changes were observed in the spontaneous

chromosomal A chromosome is a long DNA molecule with part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells the most important of these proteins are ...

mutation frequency of dietary restricted mice (aged 6 and 12 months) compared to ad libitum fed control mice.Stuart GR, Oda Y, Boer JG, Glickman BW. No change in spontaneous mutation frequency or specificity in dietary restricted mice. Carcinogenesis. 2000 Feb;21(2):317-9. doi: 10.1093/carcin/21.2.317. PMID 10657975 Thus dietary restriction appears to have no appreciable effect on spontaneous mutation in chromosomal DNA, and the increased longevity of dietary restricted mice apparently is not attributable to reduced chromosomal mutation frequency.

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Aging

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