Question

Sh’qira reads an article about a family of wildcats. One of them had a mutation for tooth sharpness. Which of these statements about the wildcat with the mutation is true?

Answer 1

I don’t have the multiple‑choice statements you’re choosing from — could you paste them?

Meanwhile, here are the correct general points about a single wildcat that “had a mutation for tooth sharpness,” any one of which is typically the true / relevant statement:

- Only a germline (sperm or egg) mutation can be inherited by the wildcat’s offspring. A somatic mutation (in body cells) affects only that individual and won’t be passed on.
- A mutation is a random change in DNA; it does not arise because an organism “needs” it. Natural selection can increase the frequency of a beneficial mutation, but it doesn’t cause the mutation.
- Whether the trait shows up in offspring depends on the mutation’s inheritance pattern (dominant/recessive, haploinsufficiency, etc.) and whether the mate carries the allele.
- A single mutant individual does not mean the whole family/species has the mutation; for it to become common it must be transmitted and spread over generations (by selection, drift, gene flow).

If you give the exact answer choices, I’ll pick the one that’s true.