Blog Post Module 4: Reflection Prompt

  • Do you think mutation rates evolve?

- We discussed this in class today, but when I first answered this question I immediately thought of the mutation rates of pathogens. I figured pathogens have pretty high mutation rates and are very adaptable. Thinking back to the video from chapter 2 from the "Primer to Evolution" textbook (The Evolution of Bacteria), I figured since bacteria form new generations in a short amount of time and pathogens have high mutation rates and compromise bacteria, then it must be true that mutation rates evolve. 

  •  Explain your answer in the context of Darwin's postulates about natural selection!

  1. Individuals in a population vary in their traits.

  2. Some of that trait variation is inherited from parents to their offspring.

  3. More offspring are produced in every generation than can possibly survive.

  4. Successful survival and reproduction of those offspring is not random but dependent on the traits they inherited from their parents.

  - If there are mutations within the DNA polymerase of an individual, it can be passed down to future generations. These mutations accumulate overtime, making the individual more likely to inherit other mutations.  

  • Under what circumstances do you envision high or low mutation rates to be adaptive?
- It really depends on the environment. As discussed in class, a fast/rapid production of mutations doesn't necessarily result in accuracy. The slower the mutation rates are, the more accurate the individual's genetic code will be. A big take away at the end of class was that mutations impact an individual, therefore their goal is to max out their own fitness. The state of the population does not matter to an individual. 

Comments

  1. Hannah Nine24 September 2021 at 19:20

    Hi Shaun! From class, I think that the fact that mutations impact an individual and not a species was not really a well-known concept to me. I agree with what you said about mutations rates adapting depending on the environment, and there is really no one way that they will evolve.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Victoria K.25 September 2021 at 15:01

    Short, sweet, to the point! I like how all your points are easy to find and read! I agree with your conclusions as well. Nice job!

    ReplyDelete

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