Question

Suppose the mutation rate per nucleotide for a genetic locus is 4 × 10–8 and that the locus contains 1,500 nucleotides. what is the per-locus mutation rate?

Answer 1

Given: The mutation rate per nucleotide is 4 x
`10^(-8)`. There are 1500 nucleotides per locus.

To find: The mutation rate per locus for the locus of length 1500 nucleotides.

Method: Simple multiplication of the mutation rate per nucleotide with number of nucleotides per locus will give the answer

Solution:

The mutation rate per nucleotide =
`4 * 10^(-8)`

The number of nucleotides per locus = 1500

The mutation rate per locus = mutation rate per nucleotide x number of nucleotide per locus =
`4 * 10^(-8) * 1500 = 6 * 10^(-5)`.