Mutation vs. Variation — What's the Difference?

A permanent change in DNA.

Differences in characteristics among individuals.

Genetic change at the molecular level.

The range of phenotypic differences in a population.

A source of genetic diversity.

Deviation in traits from the norm.

In biology, a mutation is an alteration in the nucleotide sequence of the genome of an organism, virus, or extrachromosomal DNA. Viral genomes contain either DNA or RNA. Mutations result from errors during DNA or viral replication, mitosis, or meiosis or other types of damage to DNA (such as pyrimidine dimers caused by exposure to ultraviolet radiation), which then may undergo error-prone repair (especially microhomology-mediated end joining), cause an error during other forms of repair, or cause an error during replication (translesion synthesis). Mutations may also result from insertion or deletion of segments of DNA due to mobile genetic elements.Mutations may or may not produce detectable changes in the observable characteristics (phenotype) of an organism.

Observable differences in a trait's expression.

The act or process of being altered or changed.

A change or slight difference in condition, amount, or level, typically within certain limits

An alteration or change, as in nature, form, or quality.

A different or distinct form or version of something

A change in the nucleotide sequence of the genome of an organism or virus, sometimes resulting in the appearance of a new character or trait not found in the parental type.

The act, fact, or process of varying.

The process by which such a change occurs, either through an alteration in the nucleotide sequence coding for a gene or through a change in the physical arrangement of the genetic material.

The extent or degree to which something varies

The nucleotide sequence, trait, or individual that results from such a change.

Something different from another of the same type

A change affecting a sound or a class of sounds, such as back vowels or plosive consonants, through assimilation to another sound, as in the process of umlaut.

Magnetic declination.

A change affecting a sound or a class of sounds that is conditioned by morphological or syntactic factors rather than purely phonological factors, as in Irish, where certain words cause the lenition of the initial consonants of the following word.

(Biology) The existence within a species or other group of organisms of differences in form, function, or behavior, especially when hereditary.

Any alteration or change.

(Mathematics) A function that relates the values of one variable to those of other variables.

(genetics) Any heritable change of the base-pair sequence of genetic material.

A form that is an altered version of a given theme, diverging from it by melodic ornamentation and by changes in harmony, rhythm, or key.

A mutant.

One of a series of forms based on a single theme.

(linguistics) An alteration a particular sound of a word, especially the initial consonant, which is triggered by the word's morphological or syntactic context and not by its phonological context.

A solo dance, especially one forming part of a larger work.

A group of thrushes.

The act of varying; a partial change in the form, position, state, or qualities of a thing.

Change; alteration, either in form or qualities.

A related but distinct thing.

Gradual definitely tending variation, such as may be observed in a group of organisms in the fossils of successive geological levels.

(nautical) The angular difference at the vessel between the direction of true north and magnetic north.

As now employed (first by de Vries), a cellular process resulting in a sudden inheritable variation (the offspring differing from its parents in some well-marked character or characters) as distinguished from a gradual variation in which the new characters become fully developed only in the course of many generations. The occurrence of mutations, the selection of strains carrying mutations permitting enhanced survival under prevailing conditions, and the mechanism of hereditary of the characters so appearing, are well-established facts; whether and to what extent the mutation process has played the most important part in the evolution of the existing species and other groups of organisms is an unresolved question.

(board games) A line of play that differs from the original.

A variant strain of an organism in which the hereditary variant property is caused by a mutation{3}.

(music) A technique where material is repeated with alterations to the melody, harmony, rhythm, timbre, texture, counterpoint or orchestration; but with some invariant characteristic, e.g. a ground bass.

(biology) an organism that has characteristics resulting from chromosomal alteration

(genetics) The modification of a hereditary trait.

(genetics) any event that changes genetic structure; any alteration in the inherited nucleic acid sequence of the genotype of an organism

(astronomy) Deviation from the mean orbit of a heavenly body.

A change or alteration in form or qualities

The act of varying; a partial change in the form, position, state, or qualities of a thing; modification; alteration; mutation; diversity; deviation; as, a variation of color in different lights; a variation in size; variation of language.

An alteration in genetic material.

Extent to which a thing varies; amount of departure from a position or state; amount or rate of change.

A deviation from the standard DNA sequence.

Change of termination of words, as in declension, conjugation, derivation, etc.

Repetition of a theme or melody with fanciful embellishments or modifications, in time, tune, or harmony, or sometimes change of key; the presentation of a musical thought in new and varied aspects, yet so that the essential features of the original shall still preserve their identity.

One of the different arrangements which can be made of any number of quantities taking a certain number of them together.

An instance of change; the rate or magnitude of change

An activity that varies from a norm or standard;

A repetition of a musical theme in which it is modified or embellished

Something a little different from others of the same type;

An artifact that deviates from a norm or standard;

The angle (at a particular location) between magnetic north and true north

(astronomy) any perturbation of the mean motion or orbit of a planet or satellite (especially a perturbation of the earth's moon)

(biology) an organism that has characteristics resulting from chromosomal alteration

(ballet) a solo dance or dance figure

The act of changing or altering something slightly but noticeably from the norm or standard;

The manifestation of genetic diversity.

Variation allows populations to adapt to changing environments, ensuring survival and evolution.

No, while some mutations can be harmful, others can be neutral or even beneficial.

Specific mutations can lead to malfunctioning proteins, causing genetic disorders.

Mutations can arise from errors during DNA replication, environmental factors like radiation, or certain chemicals.

Not necessarily. Some mutations might not result in observable changes or might not be passed to the next generation.

Genetic differences, environmental influences, and their interactions contribute to Variation.

Variation can be seen in differences in traits like color, size, behavior, etc., among individuals.

Some mutations can revert to their original state, but these events are generally rare.