Mutation rates

[jam17p]

Is the mutation rate very variable between different organisms?

[sabrinah]

Yes there is. Generally, mutation rates are lower in bacteria and other microorganisms than in more complex, multicellular species. In humans, for example, the rate typically ranges from about one per one hundred thousand to one per one million gametes.: a gamete generally contains approximately twenty thousand genes. But, importantly,as well as great variation rates between organisms there is also a great variety of mutation rates for different genes within an organism.