Mutant

Errors of replication often involve translesion synthesis by a DNA polymerase when it encounters and bypasses a damaged base in the template strand.

[6] Previously, people used the word "sport" (related to spurt) to refer to abnormal specimens.

The word finds its origin in the Latin term mūtant- (stem of mūtāns), which means "to change".

[6] Mutants should not be confused with organisms born with developmental abnormalities, which are caused by errors during morphogenesis.

Epigenetic alterations include methylation of CpG islands of a gene promoter as well as specific chromatin histone modifications.

The blue lobster , an example of a mutant
Wild-type Physcomitrella and knockout mosses : Deviating phenotypes induced in gene-disruption library transformants. Physcomitrella wild-type and transformed plants were grown on minimal Knop medium to induce differentiation and development of gametophores . For each plant , an overview (upper row, scale bar corresponds to 1 mm) and a close-up (bottom row, scale bar equals 0.5 mm) is shown. A, Haploid wild-type moss plant completely covered with leafy gametophores and close-up of wild-type leaf. B–E, Different mutants. [ 1 ]