Some mutations, or changes in the sequence of DNA, do not have any effect on the characteristics of the organism. Why is this? (1 point) The immune system repairs the mutated sequence during development. The protein built from this mutated sequence is deactivated by the cell. The cell recognizes mutations and ignores them when expressing the gene. The still codes for the same amino acid.

Many mutations are known as "silent mutations" because they do not change the amino acid sequence of a protein. This is due to the redundancy in the genetic code, where multiple codons can encode for the same amino acid. So, even if the DNA sequence has changed, the resulting protein remains unchanged, and therefore, the organism's characteristics may be unaffected. Additionally, some mutations occur in non-coding regions of DNA, often referred to as "junk DNA." These regions do not code for proteins and can therefore undergo changes without impacting the overall function or characteristics of the organism. This underscores how complexity and diversity can arise at the genetic level without always leading to a visible change.