Mutation, somatic

Mutation, somatic
A change in a gene or chromosome that occurs in a general body cell, as opposed to a germ cell, and so cannot be transmitted to children. A somatic mutation occurs in a single cell after the conception of the individual. That change is then transmitted to all cells descended from that cell, giving rise to a clone of cells marked by the mutation. Some somatic mutations are involved in the development of cancer. For example, colon cancer occurs because of a somatic mutation in the cells lining the inner colon. Somatic mutations are also termed acquired mutations.

Medical dictionary. 2011.

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  • Mutation — A permanent change, a structural alteration, in the DNA or RNA. In humans and many other organisms, mutations occur in DNA. However, in retroviruses like HIV, mutations occur in RNA which is the genetic material of retroviruses. In most cases,… …   Medical dictionary

  • Somatic evolution in cancer — Somatic evolution is the accumulation of mutations in the cells of a body (the soma) during a lifetime, and the effects of those mutations on the fitness of those cells. Somatic evolution is important in the process of aging as well as the… …   Wikipedia

  • Somatic hypermutation — (or SHM) is a mechanism inside cells that is part of the way the immune system adapts to the new foreign elements which confront it (for example, microbes). SHM diversifies the receptors that the immune system uses to recognize foreign elements… …   Wikipedia

  • somatic mutation — Mutation that occurs in the somatic tissues of an organism, and that will not, therefore, be heritable, since it is not present in the germ cells. Some neoplasia is due to somatic mutation; a more conspicuous example is the reversion of some… …   Dictionary of molecular biology

  • somatic mutation — somatic mutation. См. соматическая мутация. (Источник: «Англо русский толковый словарь генетических терминов». Арефьев В.А., Лисовенко Л.А., Москва: Изд во ВНИРО, 1995 г.) …   Молекулярная биология и генетика. Толковый словарь.

  • somatic mutation — Mutation in any cell other than a germ cell or its precursor …   Dictionary of invertebrate zoology

  • mutation — [myo͞o tā′shən] n. [ME mutacioun < OFr mutacion < L mutatio < mutare, to change: see MISS1] 1. a changing or being changed 2. a change, as in form, nature, qualities, etc. 3. Biol. a) a sudden variation in some inheritable characteristic …   English World dictionary

  • Mutation — For other uses, see Mutation (disambiguation). Part of the Biology series on Evolution …   Wikipedia

  • Somatic mutation — A change in a gene or chromosome that occurs in a general body cell, as opposed to a germ cell, and so cannot be transmitted to children. A somatic mutation occurs in a single cell after the conception of the individual. That change is then… …   Medical dictionary

  • somatic mutation — noun : change originating in a somatic cell due to chance loss of genes or to genic change and constituting the cause of chimera formation * * * somatic mutation noun A mutation occurring in somatic cells, and therefore not inheritable • • • Main …   Useful english dictionary

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