Difference between Gene Mutation and Chromosome Mutation

Gene mutation and Chromosome mutation are two different terms which are closely related to genetics. Gene mutation is basically the change in the nucleotide sequence while chromosome mutation is the change in several genes. These gene mutations are basically small changes in the gene while chromosome mutation is the alteration that happens on a large scale. Depending on the size of the DNA that has been mutated, the classification of gene mutation and chromosome mutation can vary. Changes in mutations occur in the genetic material of organisms through either internal or external factors. In some cases these causes are known and sometimes they might not be fully understood. In essence you can classify gene and chromosome mutation as being on a micro or macro level. These two terms also differ from each other due to the magnitude of the alteration which actually occurs. All types of mutations come about due to the erratic pace of regulation of DNA replication.

Instructions

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    Gene mutation

    Gene mutation is considered as the small scale change in a nucleotide sequence. The altering of the genetic material on an organism happens in two ways. Point mutations and frame shift mutations are two bases which play a vital role whenever any change happens in a nucleotide sequence. These two bases have further differences as well. The frame shift mutation happens with insertions. It is important to mention that whenever a potential change happens, the transcribe mRNA synthesised with amino acids to alter. There are also other types of point mutations which are mainly called Transition, Transversion, Silent, Missense and Nonsense. These point mutations also take part after the transcription of protein synthesis. It can change the entire structure of the gene but with the help of a nucleotide effect, it creates slow small scale alterations.

    - Image Courtesy: biologie.uni-hamburg.de

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    Chromosome Mutation

    Chromosome mutation is a change in several genes which happens on a large scale alteration within the chromosome organism. In chromosomes, the structure remains the same but the types of chromosome mutations are better known as duplications, inversions and deletion. It is important to understand that each number of DNA increases whenever the duplication happens in chromosome mutations. Sometimes in complex chromosome mutations, DNA strands are inversely joined at the original position. High heat, viruses and radiation are external causes that can determine the extent of change or damage. Chromosome mutations through deletion can also occur. It is a slight structural alteration but still its proper distribution creates several protein syntheses in DNA.



    - Image Courtesy: life.nationalpost.com

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