How can a mutation that causes a change in a proteins structure or function be beneficial to an organism?

To function correctly, each cell depends on thousands of proteins to do their jobs in the right places at the right times. Sometimes, gene variants (also known as mutations) prevent one or more proteins from working properly. By changing a gene’s instructions for making a protein, a variant can cause a protein to malfunction or to not be produced at all. When a variant alters a protein that plays a critical role in the body, it can disrupt normal development or cause a health condition. A condition caused by variants in one or more genes is called a genetic disorder.

In some cases, gene variants are so severe that they prevent an embryo from surviving until birth. These changes occur in genes that are essential for development, and often disrupt the development of an embryo in its earliest stages. Because these variants have very serious effects, they are incompatible with life.

It is important to note that genes themselves do not cause disease—genetic disorders are caused by variants that alter or eliminate a gene’s function. For example, when people say that someone has “the cystic fibrosis gene,” they are usually referring to a version of the CFTR gene that contains a variant that causes the disease. All people, including those without cystic fibrosis, have a version of the CFTR gene.

How can a mutation that causes a change in a protein's structure or function be beneficial to an organism?

They lead to new versions of proteins that help organisms adapt to changes in their environment. Beneficial mutations are essential for evolution to occur. They increase an organism's changes of surviving or reproducing, so they are likely to become more common over time.

How does mutation cause the changes in the structure and functions of a protein?

Sometimes, gene variants (also known as mutations) prevent one or more proteins from working properly. By changing a gene's instructions for making a protein, a variant can cause a protein to malfunction or to not be produced at all.

Can a mutation be beneficial to an organism?

Mutations occur throughout the natural world. Some mutations are beneficial and increase the possibility that an organism will thrive and pass on its genes to the next generation. When mutations improve survival or reproduction, the process of natural selection will cause the mutation to become more common over time.

What could be a beneficial effect of a mutation?

Many mutations are neutral and have no effect on the organism in which they occur. Some mutations are beneficial and improve fitness. An example is a mutation that confers antibiotic resistance in bacteria. Other mutations are harmful and decrease fitness, such as the mutations that cause genetic disorders or cancers .