Mutation and the Tree of Life

 Mutation and the Tree of Life

It is helpful to view mutations as any change in the DNA sequence of a cell! In the following depiction below, I illustrate a simplified example of different types of mutations (substitution, deletion, and insertion) using geometric patterns as a model for a cell's DNA sequence. 

Now let's step away from viewing mutations through a geometric point of view as seen above and turn to look at the role of mutations in organisms, specifically in cocomonteres (a fictional organism)!

As depicted above, the cocomonteres' exposure to parasites ultimately led to a mutation that caused a deformity, specifically an increase in their amount of limbs. A similar tragedy can be found with Ribeiroia ondatrae in amphibians in the Western United States of America (see here for more interesting information on the topic).

Based on the information given above, do you believe their mutation was beneficial, harmful, and neutral?

In the case of growing excessive limbs, this mutation would be considered to be harmful because it can throw off the organism's balance and prevent them from hunting and mating sufficiently. However, cocomonteres used to have dull, more rounded teeth due to their environmental diet primarily consisting of plants. Throughout time, the organism has evolved to have sharper teeth to accommodate their environment having more squirrels and rodents for them to hunt and consume, as they are omnivores. This mutation is beneficial for them as it broadened the amount of food they can consume and thus increased the longevity of the organism. Whereas, a seemingly neutral mutation would be cocomonteres once having orange fur and now having pink fur, the change in fur has given the organism (and its evolutionary trajectory) no direct benefits nor disadvantages so it is deemed a neutral mutation!

Thank you for reading!