Question

A mutation is identified in a tumor sequencing study. Which of the following pieces of evidence would most strongly suggest that the mutation is a passenger mutation?

a. The same gene is mutated in many other individuals with the same kind of cancer.
b. The mutation impacts the function of a known tumor suppressor gene.
c. The mutation is a silent point mutation in a protein-coding sequence.
d. The gene carrying the mutation is known to participate in the cell cycle.

Answer 1

The mutation is a silent point mutation in a protein-coding sequence.

Step-by-step explanation:

A mutation is a change or alteration in DNI sequences that introduce new variants. Many of these are eliminated, but some of them might succeed and be incorporated into each individual. Mutations can be damaging or beneficial.

There are two types of mutations in cancerous cells:

· Driver mutations, which refer to genetic changes that provide malign cells an adaptative advantage. These mutations drive the cells to tumoral evolution.

· Passenger mutations, also known as neutral mutations, refer to those that do not provide any advantage nor disadvantage to the cancerous cell. These mutations can be between DNI segments where the driver mutations are. Some of these passenger mutations might become driver mutations with time.