Question

A point mutation changes the dna sequence cgatocgt, but the same protein is produced. what point mutation occured?

Answer 1

A point mutation showing a change in the DNA sequence but producing the same protein is called the silent mutation.

Mutation is any change in the genetic composition of the organism caused by mutagens. A point mutation is a type of mutation involving the change in a single nucleotide base either by insertion or deletion in a DNA. At the level of protein synthesis, it can be classified into silent mutation, missense mutation and nonsense mutation.

Silent mutations are considered as the neutral mutations as they result in a new codon (a triplet nucleotide sequence on RNA) which codes for the same amino acid and thus not altering the protein. Because of this, they do not exhibit any change in the phenotype of the organism. Missense mutations involve base substitutions which code for a different amino acid and nonsense mutations have substitutions which terminate protein synthesis prematurely thus affecting the protein being synthesized.

Thus, silent mutation is a type of point mutation producing the same amino acid.