Classification Of Mutation According To Magnitude

Of Phenotypic Effect
According to their phenotypic effects following kinds of mutations may occur:

1.Dominant mutations:
The mutations which have dominant
phenotypic expressions are called dominant mutations. For example, in man
the mutation disease aniridia (absence of iris of eyes) occurs due to a
dominant mutant gene.

2. Recessive mutations:
Most types of mutations are recessive in
nature and so they are not expressed phenotypically immediately. The
phenotypic effects of mutations of a recessive gene is seen only after one or
more generations, when the mutant gene is able to recombine with another
similar recessive gene.

3. Isoalleles:
Some mutations alter the phenotype of an organism so
slightly that they can be detected only by special techniques. Mutant genes
that give slightly modified phenotypes are called isoalleles. They produce
identical phenotypes in homozygous or heterozygous combinations.

4. Lethal mutations:
According to their effects on the phenotype
mutations may be classified as lethal, subvitals and supervitals. Lethal
mutations result in the death of the cells or organisms in which they occur.
Subvitals mutations reduce the chance of survival of the organism in
which they occur. Supervital mutations, in contrast, cause the
improvement of biological fitness under certain conditions.

Classification Of Mutations According to

Consequent Change in Amino Acid Sequence
1.Missence mutations:
They change the meaning of a codon,
changing one amino acid into another.

2.Temperature sensitive mutations or Ts mutations:

If the substitution produces a protein that is active at one temperature
(typically 300C) and inactive at a higher temperature (usually 40-420C).

3.Nonsence or chain termination mutations:

They arise
when a codon for an amino acid is mutated into a terminal codon (UAG, UAA
or UGA), resulting in the production of a shorter protein.
Since, temperature-sensitive and chain termination
mutations exhibit the mutant phenotype only under certain conditions, they
are called conditional mutations; they are the most versatile and useful
mutations.

4.Silent mutations:
They change a nucleotide but not the amino
acid sequence because they affect the third position of the codon, which is
usually less important in coding. This is a silent mutation because it leaves
the protein sequence unchanged.

Classification of Mutation According to the Types of

Chromosomes
According to the types of chromosomes, the mutations may be of following
two kinds:

1.Autosomal mutations:
This type of mutation occurs in
autosomal chromosomes. Examples include, Sickle Cell ( sickle shaped blood
cells), Tay Sachs Disease ( individuals cannot breakdown lipids in the brain

hence death at the age of 4) and many more.

2.Sex chromosomal mutations:

This type of mutation occurs in
sex chromosomes. Examples include Haemophilia, Color Blindness, Male
Pattern Baldness.