mutation

[myoo-tey-shuh n] /myuˈteɪ ʃən/
noun
1.
Biology.
  1. a sudden departure from the parent type in one or more heritable characteristics, caused by a change in a gene or a chromosome.
  2. an individual, species, or the like, resulting from such a departure.
2.
the act or process of changing.
3.
a change or alteration, as in form or nature.
4.
Phonetics, umlaut.
5.
Linguistics. (in Celtic languages) syntactically determined morphophonemic phenomena that affect initial sounds of words.
Origin
1325-75; Middle English mutacio(u)n < Latin mūtātion- (stem of mūtātiō) a changing. See mutate, -ion
Related forms
mutational, adjective
mutationally, adverb
nonmutational, adjective
nonmutationally, adverb
unmutational, adjective
Examples from the web for mutation
  • The good news: They've identified the genetic mutation that makes that possible.
  • That's why there's so much worry about fallout: radiation increases the mutation rate— mistakes pile up.
  • And the source of variation is mutation.
  • Every family member with the mutation had great difficulty speaking.
  • Still other research is concerned with the unpredictable mutations that sometimes occur in viruses.
  • The human race is undergoing a massive cultural mutation.
  • As stated the other animals evolved in their own direction according to random mutation and natural selection.
  • Consider the case of a patient who is carrying a disease mutation.
  • If it's truly beneficial, the mutation stays and gets bred in to the species.
  • One may derive from, say, an environmental exposure and the other from an inherited gene mutation.
British Dictionary definitions for mutation

mutation

/mjuːˈteɪʃən/
noun
1.
the act or process of mutating; change; alteration
2.
a change or alteration
3.
a change in the chromosomes or genes of a cell. When this change occurs in the gametes the structure and development of the resultant offspring may be affected See also inversion (sense 11)
4.
another word for mutant (sense 1)
5.
a physical characteristic of an individual resulting from this type of chromosomal change
6.
(phonetics)
  1. (in Germanic languages) another name for umlaut
  2. (in Celtic languages) a phonetic change in certain initial consonants caused by a preceding word
Derived Forms
mutational, adjective
mutationally, adverb
Word Origin and History for mutation
n.

late 14c., "action of changing," from Old French mutacion (13c.), and directly from Latin mutationem (nominative mutatio) "a changing, alteration, a turn for the worse," noun of action from past participle stem of mutare "to change" (see mutable). Genetic sense is from 1894.

mutation in Medicine

mutation mu·ta·tion (myōō-tā'shən)
n.

  1. The act or process of being altered or changed.

  2. An alteration or change, as in nature, form, or quality.

  3. A sudden structural change within a gene or chromosome of an organism resulting in the creation of a new character or trait not found in the parental type.

  4. The process by which such a sudden structural change occurs, either through an alteration in the nucleotide sequence of the DNA coding for a gene or through a change in the physical arrangement of a chromosome.

  5. A mutant.

mu·ta'tion·al adj.
mu·ta'tion·al·ly adv.
mutation in Science
mutation
  (my-tā'shən)   
A change in the structure of the genes or chromosomes of an organism. Mutations occurring in the reproductive cells, such as an egg or sperm, can be passed from one generation to the next. Most mutations occur in junk DNA and have no discernible effects on the survivability of an organism. Of the remaining mutations, the majority have harmful effects, while a minority can increase an organism's ability to survive. A mutation that benefits a species may evolve by means of natural selection into a trait shared by some or all members of the species. See Note at sickle cell anemia.