Question

Consider a mutation in which the change is from uac to uau. Both codons specify the amino acid tyrosine. Which type of point mutation is this?

Answer 1

The correct answer is: silent mutation

There are a few types of genetic mutation that can change genetic code. Those mutations can be classified:

1. Substitution-only one base is changed

• Nonsense mutations-when substitution leads to the formation of a stop codon instead of a codon

• Missense mutations-when one nucleotide is substituted and a different codon is formed

• Silent mutations-when a nucleotide is substituted and the same amino acid is produced

2. Insertion- extra base pairs are inserted

3. Deletion- section of DNA is deleted