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mutation

- 8 dictionary results

mu⋅ta⋅tion

[myoo-tey-shuhn]
–noun
1. Biology.
a. a sudden departure from the parent type in one or more heritable characteristics, caused by a change in a gene or a chromosome.
b. an individual, species, or the like, resulting from such a departure.
2. the act or process of changing.
3. a change or alteration, as in form or nature.
4. Phonetics. umlaut.
5. Linguistics. (in Celtic languages) syntactically determined morphophonemic phenomena that affect initial sounds of words.

Origin:
1325–75; ME mutacio(u)n < L mūtātion- (s. of mūtātiō) a changing. See mutate, -ion


mu⋅ta⋅tion⋅al, adjective
mu⋅ta⋅tion⋅al⋅ly, adverb
mu·ta·tion   (myōō-tā'shən)   
n.  
  1. The act or process of being altered or changed.
  2. An alteration or change, as in nature, form, or quality.
  3. Genetics
    1. A change of the DNA sequence within a gene or chromosome of an organism resulting in the creation of a new character or trait not found in the parental type.
    2. The process by which such a change occurs in a chromosome, either through an alteration in the nucleotide sequence of the DNA coding for a gene or through a change in the physical arrangement of a chromosome.
    3. A mutant.
  4. Linguistics The change that is caused in a sound by its assimilation to another sound, such as umlaut.

[Middle English mutacioun, from Old French mutacion, from Latin mūtātiō, mūtātiōn-, from past participle of mūtāre, to change; see mutate.]
mu·ta'tion·al adj., mu·ta'tion·al·ly adv.

Mutation

Mu*ta"tion\, n. [L. mutatio, fr. mutare to change: cf. F. mutation. See Mutable.] Change; alteration, either in form or qualities.

The vicissitude or mutations in the superior globe are no fit matter for this present argument. --Bacon.

Mutation

Mu*ta"tion\, n. 1. (Biol.) Gradual definitely tending variation, such as may be observed in a group of organisms in the fossils of successive geological levels.

2. (Biol.) (a) As now employed (first by de Vries), a sudden variation (the offspring differing from its parents in some well-marked character or characters) as distinguished from a gradual variations in which the new characters become fully developed only in the course of many generations. The occurrence of mutations, and the hereditary transmission, under some conditions, of the characters so appearing, are well-established facts; whether the process has played an important part in the evolution of the existing species and other groups of organisms is a disputed question. (b) The result of the above process; a suddenly produced variation.
Language Translation for : mutation
Spanish: (deporte) traspaso, traslado; (banco) transferencia,
German: der Wechsel,
Japanese: 移転

mutation 
c.1374, "action of changing," from L. mutationem (nom. mutatio) "a changing," from mutatus, pp. of mutare "to change" (see mutable). Genetic sense is from 1894. Verb mutate "to change state or condition" is first recorded 1818 (in genetic sense, 1913), from L. mutatus.

Main Entry: mu·ta·tion
Pronunciation: myü-'tA-sh&n
Function: noun
1 : a relatively permanent change in hereditary materialinvolving either a physical change in chromosome relations or a biochemical change in the codons that make up genes; also : the process of producing a mutation
2 : an individual, strain, or trait resulting from mutation —mu·ta·tion·al /-shn&l, -sh&n-&l/ adjectivemu·ta·tion·al·ly /-E/ adverb

mutation mu·ta·tion (my&oomacr;-tā'shən)
n.

  1. The act or process of being altered or changed.
  2. An alteration or change, as in nature, form, or quality.
  3. A sudden structural change within a gene or chromosome of an organism resulting in the creation of a new character or trait not found in the parental type.
  4. The process by which such a sudden structural change occurs, either through an alteration in the nucleotide sequence of the DNA coding for a gene or through a change in the physical arrangement of a chromosome.
  5. A mutant.

mu·ta'tion·al adj.
mu·ta'tion·al·ly adv.

mutation   (my-tā'shən)  Pronunciation Key 
A change in the structure of the genes or chromosomes of an organism. Mutations occurring in the reproductive cells, such as an egg or sperm, can be passed from one generation to the next. Most mutations occur in junk DNA and have no discernible effects on the survivability of an organism. Of the remaining mutations, the majority have harmful effects, while a minority can increase an organism's ability to survive. A mutation that benefits a species may evolve by means of natural selection into a trait shared by some or all members of the species. See Note at sickle cell anemia.
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