Question

Which of the following harmful mutations will have the most severe effect in the progeny?

(a) Mutation in a muscle tissue

(b) Mutation in a gamete

(c) Mutation in sperm mother cells

(d) Mutation in mammary gland tissue

I had been asked this question during an online exam.

The question is from DNA Mutation in section DNA Mutation, DNA Repair, Transposable Elements of Cytogenetics

Answer 1

The correct answer is (c) Mutation in sperm mother cells

The explanation is: Option a and d are somatic tissue, their mutation will not be propagated. A single gamete will only have a slight chance to fertilize and lead to mutation, but sperm mother mutation will produce many lethal gametes that will increase the probability.