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A germ-line mutation is known to have occurred - HSC - SSCE Biology - Question 15 - 2019 - Paper 1
Question 15
A germ-line mutation is known to have occurred. How is it possible that there has been no noticeable change in the phenotype of the offspring? A. The mutation occu... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:A germ-line mutation is known to have occurred - HSC - SSCE Biology - Question 15 - 2019 - Paper 1
Step 1
The mutation occurred in a stretch of non-coding DNA.
Answer
Mutations can occur in regions of DNA that do not code for proteins, known as non-coding DNA. These regions can regulate gene expression or have unknown functions, meaning that changes here may not affect the phenotype of the offspring. Therefore, the presence of a mutation in non-coding DNA can lead to no observable changes in the phenotype.