Title: mutation rate
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - mutation rate
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.M04075
Status: current

Definition
The frequency (\(\rm{h}^{-1}\)) with which a mutation occurs within a organism or gene. In general, rates of spontaneous mutation vary between one in \(10^{4}\) and one in \(10^{8}\) per gene per generation, and can be considerably increased by mutagens.

Related Terms
- gene: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/G02604
- mutation: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/M04074

Source
- PAC, 1992, 64, 143. 'Glossary for chemists of terms used in biotechnology (IUPAC Recommendations 1992)' on page 161 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac199264010143)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/M04075/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/M04075/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/M04075/xml

Citation: Citation: 'mutation rate' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.M04075
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Accessed: 2026-05-01T03:57:38+00:00