Question

Why do mutations in somatic cells not get passed on to offspring?
Somatic cell mutations are always corrected by cellular mechanisms, which prevents them from being passed on during reproduction.
Mutations in somatic cells are not transmitted to gametes, which are necessary for reproduction.
Somatic cell mutations do not occur during meiosis, which is necessary for producing gametes.
Mutations in somatic cells affect both somatic cells and gametes, which
• cancels out the mutations involved in reproduction.

Answer 1

Best answer: "Mutations in somatic cells are not transmitted to gametes, which are necessary for reproduction."

Why: Only mutations in the germline (the cells that produce eggs or sperm) can be passed to offspring. Somatic cells are every other body cell; mutations there affect only that individual’s tissues. Cellular repair mechanisms exist but are not perfect and do not guarantee that somatic mutations are always fixed. Meiosis and gamete formation occur in germ cells, not in somatic cells, so somatic mutations generally never enter the gamete lineage.

Note one caveat: if a mutation occurs very early in development (before germline and somatic lineages separate) or if there is gonadal mosaicism, the same mutation can be present in some germ cells and thus transmitted to offspring. In most cases, though, somatic mutations are not heritable.