Genetic mosaic

A genetic mosaic is an organism which has cellss with different genotypes. Mosacism may result from a mutation during development which is propogated to only a subset of the adult cells. Mammalian females are usually mosaic because one of their X chromosomes is randomly inactivated during development.

Genetic mosaics are used in experimental genetics to determine whether a gene functions cell autonomously. If a mosaic in which genes are lost or added in a subset of cells causes a change in the phenotype of only the altered cells, then the gene is said to act cell autonomously (with regard to the phenotype studied).

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