Mutation=Evolution

     As you can tell from the title, I'll be explaining how mutation is actually hand in hand with evolution. If our genes had stayed the same, had not mutated in any way, we wouldn't even be here. Nothing like it is now would be here. Mutations are an important part of the progress of life. Organisms need to change and pass down beneficial mutations through generations in order to survive. And since this is all very vague, and more of a summary then anything, I'll go over some specific examples of beneficial mutations.

     Granny Smith apples are a very popular and well known fruit. Did you know that it came from a mutation? One of her trees had produced some different type of apple and she jumped on the opportunity to produce more. It has good consumer appeal, and it's pest resistance and hardiness made it a fave for farmers.
      In 1791, a Massachusetts farmer, Seth Wright, noticed that he had very short-legged sheep in his flock. He bred these together and created a new breed, the Ancon breed. The shorter legs made it so they couldn't jump over fences, reduced the lost number of sheep, and increased weight gain since the sheep couldn't move as much as other sheep. This short-leggedness was a mutation.
      The Murray breed of cattle is another good example of good mutation. A farmer noticed that a cow gave birth to a particularly good line of calves. He jumped on the opportunity to profit off of this mutation and therefore created a new, better breed.
     Often, these mutations go unnoticed for generations until eventually the characteristics just dominate the gene pool. Obvious, visual changes are what farmers usually notice. Some examples are the redness of an apple, the white face of a Hereford, the quality of wool in the Spanish Merino sheep, and the smell of a particular type of rose.

     So, in conclusion, beneficial mutations are kept and passed down through natural selection. This is the same way that evolution has worked throughout history.