Question

What type of mutation is shown in the sequence below

Answer 1

Answer:

Single nucleotide deletion

Explanation:

Original DNA sequence:

A T A C G G T A

T A T G C C A T

Mutated DNA sequence:

A T C G G T A G

T A G C C A T C

​In the mutated sequence, there is a nucleotide missing. It goes from ATACGGTA to ATCGGTAG. The A nucleotide is gone. This represents a single base pair deletion.

Even though it is only one base, this changes the way the entire sequence is interpreted. The DNA transcribed into an mRNA and then translated into a protein by reading triplet codons which correspond to specific amino acids.

So while the initial sequence would be read as:

ATA, CGG, TA...

The new sequence would be read as:

ATC, GGT, AG...

So the sequence of the protein is completely altered.