ABSTRACT
At its essence, the process of evolution is simple. Mutations, the raw materials of evolution, are passed to progeny cells. The cells (whether a unicellular or multicellular organism) survive to reproduce or they die without passing on those mutations. In other words, evolution boils down to mutation combined with many other factors that interact with the results of those mutations. However, the details of evolutionary processes are numerous, varied, and often subtle. When DNA mutates, it is transcribed to form altered RNAs that may be subsequently translated into aberrant proteins. Conditions inside the cell, as well as the environment around the cell, then act to determine the effects of mutations on the mutant cells. Although this seems simple, each step in the process, and each region of DNA, each RNA, and each protein has different selective pressures (or no pressures whatsoever) acting on them. Therefore, far from being simple, the process of evolution involves an intricate system of interactions that ultimately leads to the survival or death of the cell or organism. In this chapter, the processes of mutation as they affect DNA, RNA, and proteins in cells and organisms are discussed.
