What happens if a child has a genetic mutation?

No two leaves in this world are the same. In fact, the same is true for humans. Although they may be similar in size and appearance, they are actually two completely different individuals. The same is true for twins. The reason for such differences is mainly due to the differences in human genes. Each person's genes are unique. So, what happens when a child has a genetic mutation?

Gene mutation is the main source of variation and one of the fundamental reasons for biological evolution and development. The causes of gene mutation are very complex. According to modern genetic research, gene mutation occurs when accidental errors occur in the DNA replication process under certain external environmental conditions or internal biological factors, causing individual bases to be deleted, added, or replaced, thereby changing the genetic information and forming a gene mutation. Gene mutations can occur in both somatic cells and sex cells at any stage of the development of an organism. Gene mutations occur in somatic cells. For example, silkworms have chimeras with half transparent and half opaque skin. This is a somatic mutation that occurs during early egg cleavage. Human cancer tumors are also somatic cell mutations caused by carcinogens, ultraviolet rays, ionizing radiation, viruses, etc.

Somatic cell mutations cannot be directly passed on to offspring, and the mutated somatic cells often cannot outgrow the surrounding normal somatic cells and are therefore inhibited and rejected. However, for plants that can reproduce vegetatively, the mutated buds or branches can be preserved by simply adopting the method of vegetative reproduction.

The plants produced from such buds or branches can also pass the mutation on to their sexual offspring. Many famous varieties of fruit trees and flower plants are passed down through "bud mutation". When a gene mutation occurs in germ cells, it will be directly inherited to offspring through fertilization, causing the offspring to produce mutant types. Experiments have shown that mutations generally occur at the end of meiosis, which is the process of forming germ cells. Gene mutations include two categories: natural mutations and artificial mutations.