Usually the cells can recognize any damage caused by mutation and repair it before it becomes permanent. Burch Chao. Pin On Module 2 Quiz 3 Once an acquired mutation is passed down it is a hereditary mutation. . Featured in The New Answers Book 4. A neutral mutation changes the sequence and meaning of a codon but the different amino acid has little effect on protein function. It can cause a missense mutation which switches one amino acid in the chain for another. Gene mutations have varying effects on health depending on where they occur and whether they alter the function of essential proteins. Without mutation evolution could not occur. Describe the ways mutations can affect DNA and chromosomes. Many claim that beneficial mutations provide examples of evolution in action. These mutations can change location of genes on chromosomes and can even change the number of copies of some genes How do mutations ef...