- any change in genetic material
- chromosomal mutation (trans-, aneuploidy) vs. point mutations
- point mutation: single bp
- dna replication/repair errors, mutagens (often also carcinogens)
- base-pair substitution
- silent mutation β codon redundancy
- nonsense mutation β stop codon
- missense mutation β amino acid substitution
- frameshift mutation β single insertion/deletion of a nucleotide
- results in extensive missense or immediate nonsense mutations