Question

True or False? If a person had a mutation in their skin cells, it would be unlikely that the person's offspring will have mutated skin.
Thanks! x

Answer 1

See, I think since humans don't reproduce asexually then the offspring won't have mutated skin.

Answer 2

It would depend on how the person got the mutated skin cell.

If some single skin cell (i.e., somatic cell, or a cell in the skin that would only give rise to new skin cells) acquired a random mutation all of its own, then no. The skin cell does not give rise to any cell that would be passed on to the offspring, so the mutation would not be passed on.

But if the person inherited a mutant version of a skin cell from a parent, that mutation would be in half of the person's gametes. So the person would have a 50/50 chance of passing the mutant version on to their offspring.