Question

What is the difference between the mutation rate and the mutation frequency?

Short answer

Mutation rate refers to the likelihood of a gene mutating, usually expressed in terms of changes per biological unit, per generation, or per unit of time. Mutation frequency, however, measures the proportion of a particular mutant gene within a specific population, signifying how common a specific mutation is in a given gene pool.

Step-by-step solution

Define Mutation Rate

Mutation rate is defined as the likelihood of a gene changing to another form. It is usually expressed as the number of changes per biological unit, such as cell division, per generation, or per unit of time.

Define Mutation Frequency

On the other hand, Mutation frequency refers to the number of mutant genes compared to the total number of genes in a specific population. To put it simply, mutation frequency is the proportion of a specific mutant in the population.

Distinguish between the two

The primary difference lies in their focus. While mutation rate is about the probability of occurrence of mutation in a gene, mutation frequency is concerned with how often a specific mutation is encountered in a given gene pool. Mutation rate is thereby an event's statistical probability, and mutation frequency is a representation of that event's prevalence or abundance in a population.