Why would any living thing need to mutate?

Question

would it be to survive? would it be to adapt? to be successful? how so?

Answer 1

Biology has catalogued many traits produced by point mutations (changes at precise positions in an organism’s DNA)—bacterial resistance to antibiotics, for example. Mutations that arise in the homeobox (Hox) family of development-regulating genes in animals can also have complex effects. Hox genes direct where legs, wings, antennae and body segments should grow. In fruit flies, for instance, the mutation called Antennapedia causes legs to sprout where antennae should grow. These abnormal limbs are not functional, but their existence demonstrates that genetic mistakes can produce complex structures, which natural selection can then test for possible uses. Moreover, molecular biology has discovered mechanisms for genetic change that go beyond point mutations, and these expand the ways in which new traits can appear. Functional modules within genes can be spliced together in novel ways. Whole genes can be accidentally
duplicated in an organism’s DNA, and the duplicates are free to mutate into genes for new, complex features. Comparisons of the DNA from a wide variety of organisms indicate that this is how the globin family of blood proteins evolved over millions of years. 11. Natural selection might explain microevolution, but it cannot explain the origin of new species and higher orders of life. Evolutionary biologists have written extensively about how natural selection could produce new species. For instance, in the model called allopatry, developed by Erns Mayr of Harvard University, if a population of organisms were isolated from the rest of its species by geographical boundaries, it might be subjected to different selective pressures. Changes would accumulate in the isolated population. If those changes became so significant that the splinter group could not or routinely would not breed with the original stock, then the splinter group would be reproductively isolated and on its way toward becoming a new species.
Natural selection is the best studied of the evolutionary mechanisms, but biologists are open to other possibilities as well. Biologists are constantly assessing the potential of unusual genetic mechanisms for causing speciation or for producing complex features in organisms. Lynn Margulis of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and others have persuasively argued that some cellular organelles, such as the energy-generating mitochondria, evolved through the symbiotic merger of ancient organisms. Thus, science welcomes the possibility of evolution resulting from forces beyond natural selection. Yet those forces must be natural; they cannot be attributed to the actions of mysterious creative intelligences whose existence, in scientific terms, is unproved.

Answer 2

Mutations aren't deliberate. Mutations are errors, either in copying or repairing genetic code.

Bacteria can take up foreign DNA and incorporate it into their hereditary makeup. It's effectively gambling, you can't win if you don't roll dem bones.

In most 'higher' organisms only mutations of the cells that form gametes (eggs and sperm) are significant for adaptive purposes. Any mutation in other bodily cells that has a significant effect usually results in the cells death.

Mutation has no purpose or motive only effects that flow from it incidentally.

Mutations that improve survival and reproductive rates are preserved, those that impair are reduced and eliminated, those that have no immediate effect are either preserved or eliminated by chance.

A mutation that has no immediate effect might become advantageous or disadvantageous should circumstances change in the future.

The same could be said for advantageous or disadvantageous mutations, changing circumstances might reverse or negate their effects on survival as well.

Answer 3

Mutations accidentally happen. You probably have one or two in your DNA. Most of the time they have no effect. If they do chance to have an effect, it's probably a bad effect. But sometimes the effect luckily causes an advantage. Here's one example. In the history of humanity, there was a mutation that caused someone to carry a gene for sickle cell anemia. That gene got passed on. Eventually two people that had that gene mated and the offspring had 2 copies of that gene. That individual, and all the other ones in that situation, got sickle cell anemia, and that's fatal. But if you only carry one sickle cell anemia gene.....you can't get Malaria. And that's even better! So sometimes the mistakes (mutations) can occasionally confer an advantage. That's really rare though. Good thing species live for so long for all of those rare little mutation advantages to add up to species changes and evolution over VAST expanses of time,

Answer 4

convinced we are mutating and evolving at present yet that's sooooo sloooooooow that its said after 1000's of years. Scientists have divided the evolution time line into eras.u understand the Jurrasic era,Mesozoic era etc etc...the international in an era is extremely a lot diverse from the different era.Eras frequently very last for tens of millions of years. What era is this?this era is termed Holocene era it all started 10thousand years in the past.The era previously that's termed Pleistocene era.It all started about 2million years in the past and lasted for approx 2million years.(It become the smallest era).So dont difficulty u wont be round to work out mutated animals....yet will be your tremendous tremendous tremendous tremendous tremendous tremendous tremendous ....grand son/daughter guy see a bypass between an elephant and a rat. Evolution ROCKS

Answer 5

Well mutation is a part of evolving and survial. Here is a great website that answers these kinds of questions. Scroll down to number 6 and 7.

Answer 6

mutation helps a lot in the survival of species and certain living organisms in our planet. as the climate changes so as the body parts of the living things,if it cannot do that anymore ,then it becomes extinct.

Answer 7

No, no...no, no, no.

Nothing *needs* to mutate.

Living things mutate. Period. That happens on a chemical level.

Some mutations favor successful procreation, some do not.

Answer 8

cause every living thing has to adapt to its changing surrounding to survive and life a sucessful life.. thats how

Answer 9

So it can adapt to future life surroundings

Answer 10

it's not a case of needing to it's to do with the faact that when you are replicating large amounts of data like rna and dna mistakes do happen. And if they are good they make the species stronger or if it's not good it lowers the survivial chances so is often weeded out