| | Pharyngula::Tandem repeats and morphological variation |
 | | Tandem repeats are short lengths of DNA that are repeated multiple times within a gene, anywhere from a handful of copies to more than a hundred. |
| | Tandem repeats are subject to very high mutation rates, up to 100,000 times greater probability than a point mutation, because they are prone to a kind of error called slipped-strand mispairing. |
| | These tandem repeats are common in the vertebrate genome, so this could clearly be a reservoir of variation and a robust and flexible way to add new variations to a population. |
| pharyngula.org /index/weblog/comments/tandem_repeats_and_morphological_variation (2467 words) |
