Question

Please explain well. Thanks

Is mutation high or low in Prokaryotes? How can it contribute to genetic diversity? What about in viruses?

Answer 1

Generally, Prokaryotes have lower mutation rates. It is because of an effeicient DNA replication machinery that is able to proofread and thereby reduces the error rates. The activity of proofreading exonucleases increases the accuracy of replication. Together with the activity of proofreading exonucleases and post replication mismatch repair process, the error rate in prokaryotic DNA replication is reduced to 1 in 10¹⁰.

But, there are chances for random mutations in prokaryotes as they are exposed to different environmental conditions. In most cases, the mutation becomes advantageous to prokaryotic organisms. It provides them with many selective features and help them evolve quickly and get adapted with the new environments. This eventually results in increase in genetic diversity.

Example for one such advantageous mutation is Antibiotic resistance in bacteria.

On the other hand, Viruses are more prone to mutation than that of bacteria. They have poorly efficient replication system. Especially for RNA viruses, where the enzyme is reverse transcriptase, the error rate is about 1 in 30,000, which is actually very high. This contribute to higher mutation rates in viruses.