Question

Explain how substitution, insertion, and deletion mutations are similar and different from one another.

Answer 1

Substitution:

Substitution is the switch of codons. A C could be switched to an A, but the original is now substituted for the new codon. This can change the amino acid present or it can be a silent mutation. If the stop codon is switched in, the protein will be cut short and the effects could be very serious.

Insertion:

Insertion is where base pairs are inserted into the DNA. This is different from substitution because nothing is getting switched out, just new ones are getting inserted. The original codons will still be present, just new ones are coming in. Insertions result in a frame-shift, which means everything after the mutation is shifted and nothing will be correct after this. Insertions are more harmful than substitution because it doesn't affect just one amino acid, but many.

Deletion:

Deletion is where some codons or DNA is deleted. This will result in everything after the mutation being incorrect and can cause drastic effects. Deletion is very similar to insertion because they both cause a frame-shift, but also very different because they do the opposite from one another. Deletion is also more harmful than substitution because of the frame-shift and the change in future amino acids.