What term describes random heritable changes in DNA that can lead to new traits?

What term describes random heritable changes in DNA that can lead to new traits?

• A. Genetic Drift
• B. Gene Flow
• C. Mutation
• D. Natural Selection

Answer: (C)

Mutations are random heritable changes in DNA that can lead to new traits. They arise during DNA replication or due to environmental factors, and when they occur in germ cells, they can be passed to offspring. Although many mutations have little or negative effects, occasionally a mutation introduces a new feature that can be acted on by selection. In marine populations, a mutation might alter pigment, physiology, or tolerance to temperature or salinity, potentially offering an advantage in a given environment. This differs from genetic drift, which is random change in allele frequencies due to chance in small populations and doesn’t create new variants; gene flow, the movement of alleles between populations, changes frequencies through migration rather than generating new genetic variation; and natural selection, which increases the frequency of existing advantageous traits based on fitness, rather than creating new ones.

Mutations are random heritable changes in DNA that can lead to new traits. They arise during DNA replication or due to environmental factors, and when they occur in germ cells, they can be passed to offspring. Although many mutations have little or negative effects, occasionally a mutation introduces a new feature that can be acted on by selection. In marine populations, a mutation might alter pigment, physiology, or tolerance to temperature or salinity, potentially offering an advantage in a given environment. This differs from genetic drift, which is random change in allele frequencies due to chance in small populations and doesn’t create new variants; gene flow, the movement of alleles between populations, changes frequencies through migration rather than generating new genetic variation; and natural selection, which increases the frequency of existing advantageous traits based on fitness, rather than creating new ones.