An organism is exposed to a mutagen that causes a mutation in the kidney cells. Which best describes if the offspring of the organism will inherit the mutation, and why?

Question

An organism is exposed to a mutagen that causes a mutation in the kidney cells. Which best describes if the offspring of the organism will inherit the mutation, and why?

a
The offspring will not inherit the mutation because enzymes will fix the mutation before it can be passed on.
b
The offspring will inherit the mutation because the abnormal protein that is synthesized will be copied into the sex cells.
c
The offspring will not inherit the mutation because the mutation is not in a sex cell.
d
The offspring will inherit the mutation because the arrangement of the DNA is permanently altered.

Answer 1

b. The offspring will inherit the mutation because the abnormal protein that is synthesized will be copied into the sex cells. Mutations in somatic cells (such as kidney cells) can potentially be passed on to offspring if they occur in the sex cells (sperm or egg cells). Mutations in somatic cells that are not passed on to sex cells will not be inherited by offspring.