Which mutation type involves a DNA segment moving from one location to another within the genome?

• A. Translocation
• B. Inversion
• C. Insertion
• D. Deletion

Answer: (A)

Movement of a DNA segment to a new location in the genome is a translocation. This rearrangement happens when a chromosome breaks and a piece is reattached somewhere else, which can be on another chromosome or at another spot on the same chromosome. This relocation is what sets translocations apart from other mutation types: inversions flip the segment’s orientation without changing its position, insertions add new material at a site without moving an existing piece, and deletions remove a segment entirely. A real-world example is the Philadelphia chromosome, where a piece of chromosome 9 swaps with chromosome 22 to create the BCR-ABL fusion gene.