Is a chromosome mutation more significant than a gene mutation??

Question

Is a chromosome mutation more significant than a gene mutation??

Answer 1

yes and no.

yes because a chromosome deletion, duplication, inversion etc etc affect many genes and so would have a larger effect than just one gene mutation.

no because it depends on the gene and the chromosome. there are some genes which are essential to development. if they are mutated the embryo will fail to develop. compare this to down's syndrome, sufferers survive both to birth and for many years afterwards and down's syndrome is caused by having an extra copy of the relevant section of chromosome 21 (either by having 3 chromosome 21s or by having a section of ch21 translocated onto another chromosome plus the normal 2). also, some genes affect the expression of other genes, and so a mutation in one of those controlling genes can affect many many others.

Answer 2

Yes because it means lots of genes have mutated instead of just one

Answer 3

Yes, chromosomes are made up of genes so if a whole chromosome was mutated that means a lot of genes would be affected.

Answer 4

Chromosomal abnormalities tend to be much more disruptive than a gene mutation in that multiple genes are effected.  Loss of pieces of the chromosome or entire chromosomes, exchange of pieces of chromosomes (crossing-over) and inversions of pieces of chromosomes have been documented.

Inviable embryos may result from these types of changes or serious birth defects may develop.