Why does a mutation in a sperm or egg cell have different consequences than one in a heart cell?
1 Answer
Jul 16, 2017
A mutation in a sperm or egg cell will be passed on to all the cells in the body which will be formed from the sex cells. Only the heart cells will receive the mutation in a heart cell.
Explanation:
A mutation in a sex cell is replicated in every cell in the body. All the cells are formed from a single cell that results in the fusion of a sperm and an egg. A mutation in one of the sex cells will be present in all of the subsequent cells that are copied from the original cell.
A mutation in a heart cell will only be passed on to the other heart cells that result from mitosis of the mutated heart cell. This will have a lesser effect than the mutation on the germ or sex cells.
