definitive mutation
A case study of coevolution. Mutations. Mutation is a change in DNA, the hereditary material of life. An organism's DNA affects how it looks, how it behaves, and its physiology â all aspects of its life. So a change in an organism's DNA can cause changes in all aspects of its life. Mutations are random. Mutations can be beneficial, neutral, or harmful for the organism, but mutations do not try to supply what the organism needs.. In this respect, mutations are random â whether a particular mutation happens or not is unrelated to how useful that mutation would be.