0 or 1 of previous expression; also forces minimal matching when an expression might match several strings within a search string. \. Preceding one of the above, it makes it a literal instead of a special character. Preceding a special matching character, see below.
sickle cell disease. Sickle cell anemia, a common form of sickle cell disease, is caused by a particular mutation in the HBB gene. This mutation results in the production of an abnormal version of beta-globin called hemoglobin S or HbS. In this condition, hemoglobin S replaces both beta-globin subunits in hemoglobin.
Figure Detail. As mentioned, sickle-cell anemia is the result of a change in a single nucleotide, and it represents just one class of mutations called point mutations. Changes in the DNA sequence can also occur at the level of the chromosome, in which large segments of chromosomes are altered.n other cases, mutations alter the way a gene is read through either the insertion or the deletion of a single base. In these so-called frameshift mutations, entire proteins are altered as a result of the deletion or insertion.