BharatNotes Mutation
nounUsage in a UPSC answer
The digitisation of land records and the seamless integration of mutation with registration under programmes such as SVAMITVA have curtailed the protracted litigation and bureaucratic discretion that once plagued the transfer of title in rural India.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Word Family
mutate (v.), mutant (n./adj.), mutable (adj.), immutable (adj.), mutations (n. pl.), mutational (adj.)
Root
Latin mūtāre = to change; mūtātiōnem = a changing
Etymology
From Latin mūtātiōnem ("a changing"), from mūtāre ("to change"); first applied to genetics by Hugo de Vries in 1901.
Memory Hook
From Latin mutare 'to change' (think of a "mute" button that changes the sound, or "muta-tion" = a make-over): any deep, lasting change, whether in a gene or in a land record.
How This Word Works in UPSC Writing
A permanent change in the DNA sequence, arising spontaneously during replication or induced by mutagens such as radiation and certain chemicals. The classification that answers turn on is by consequence, not by cause. A point mutation substitutes a single base and may be silent, missense or nonsense, while an insertion or deletion of bases not in multiples of three shifts the reading frame and usually destroys the protein entirely. Equally important is that only germline mutations are inherited, while somatic mutations affect the individual alone, which is why most cancers are not heritable. The standard Indian illustration is sickle cell disease, caused by a single base substitution in the beta-globin gene that places valine where glutamic acid belongs. Its persistence is explained by heterozygote advantage, since carriers gain partial protection against malaria, and it is the target of the National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination Mission launched on 01-Jul-2023 with a 2047 goal.
Don’t Confuse It With
A mutation is a change in the DNA sequence itself. A polymorphism is a variant common enough in a population to be treated as normal variation rather than as a defect, so the line between the two is frequency, not chemistry. Germline mutations occur in gametes and are heritable, while somatic mutations occur in body cells and are not. A mutagen is the agent causing the change, and a carcinogen is one that causes cancer specifically. Note the wholly separate Indian administrative sense of mutation, meaning the transfer of title in land records, which is the sense used in the sentence above.
Hindi Meaning
उत्परिवर्तन (utparivartan) for the genetic sense; दाखिल-खारिज (dākhil-khārij) is the land-records mutation, an entirely different concept.
Common Questions
- What is a mutation?
- A permanent alteration in the DNA sequence, arising spontaneously during replication or induced by mutagens such as radiation or chemicals.
- Are all mutations inherited?
- No. Only germline mutations, occurring in the cells that form gametes, pass to offspring; somatic mutations in ordinary body cells affect only the individual.
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