BIO130H1 : BIO130 Section One Guide (5)
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BIO130H1 Full Course Notes
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Mutation rate rate at which observable changes occur in dna sequences: a single genes that encodes an average-sized protein ( 103 nucleotide pairs) accumulates a mutation about once in about 106 bacterial cell generations. Comparing amino acid sequences of the same protein in several species can provide an estimate of mutation rates in mammals; because natural selection causes mutations to vanish from the population, these tend to be underestimates. Luckily, the sequence of one family of protein fragments (fibrinopeptides) does not seem to matter, allowing the encoding genes to accumulate mutations without being selected against. Fibrinopeptides fragments 20 aa long that are discarded when the protein fibrinogen is activated to form fibrin during blood clotting: because the function of fibrinopeptides doesn"t depend on its aa sequence, it can tolerate almost any mutation. Another way to estimate mutation rates is to compare dna sequences between related species. Low mutation rates are necessary for life as we know it.