Muller's morphs

Muller's morphs

- Neomorph redirects here. It is also one of the post-human types of persons in the novelEon*by Greg Bear, as well asa creaturefrom the movieAlien: Covenant.*
Hermann J. Muller (1890–1967), who was a 1946 Nobel Prize winner, coined the terms amorph, hypomorph, hypermorph, antimorph and neomorph to classify mutations based on their behaviour in various genetic situations, as well as gene interaction between themselves.[1] These classifications are still widely used in Drosophila genetics to describe mutations. For a more general description of mutations, see mutation, and for a discussion of allele interactions, see dominance relationship.
Key: In the following sections, alleles are referred to as +=wildtype, m=mutant, Df=gene deletion, Dp=gene duplication. Phenotypes are compared with '>', meaning 'phenotype is more severe than'
Loss of function
Amorph
An amorphic allele elicits the same phenotype when homozygous and when heterozygous to a chromosomal deletion or deficiency that disrupts the same gene.[2] This relationship can be represented as follows:
m/m = m/Df
An amorphic allele is commonly recessive to its wildtype counterpart. It is possible for an amorph to be dominant if the gene in question is required in two copies to elicit a normal phenotype (i.e. haploinsufficient).
Hypomorph
The phenotype of a hypomorph is more severe in trans to a deletion allele than when homozygous.[2]
m/DF > m/m
Hypomorphs are usually recessive, but occasional alleles are dominant due to haploinsufficiency.
Gain of function
Hypermorph
The phenotype of a hypermorph is worsened by increasing the wildtype gene dose, and is reduced by lowering wildtype gene dose.[2]
m/Dp > m/+ > m/Df
Antimorph
Increasing wildtype gene function reduces the phenotypic severity of an antimorph, so the phenotype of an antimorph is worse when heterozygous than when in trans to a gene duplication.[2]
m/m > m/Df > m/+ >>> +/Df > +/+ [3]
An antimorphic mutation might affect the function of a protein that acts as a dimer so that a dimer consisting of one normal and one mutated protein is no longer functional.
Neomorph
Changing wildtype gene dose has no effect on the phenotype of a neomorph.[2]
m/Df = m/+ = m/Dp
Isomorph
m/Df = m/Dp
Overview
- Muller’s classification of mutant alleles
Category | Alternative function |
Wild type | Referent gene expression, full ("normal"), expression of parent allele |
Amorph | Dysfunctional, with null expression |
Hypomorph | Reduced, or partial reduced gene activity |
Hypermorph | Increased or partial increased parent gene activity |
Neomorph | Novel function, comparing with the initial, new property |
Antimorph | Opposing, antagonizing, or interfering gene activity |
Isomorph | Identical expression with original (parent) allele, mostly resulting from silent point mutations |