Effects of mutations on protein production

Question 1

What are mutations

Answer 1

Changes in the quantity or base sequence of DNA which can result in changes to protein structure

Question 2

What are the 3 main ways mutations can affect protein structure

Answer 2

• No change in protein structure
• Change of protein structure due to a change in the amino acid sequence
• Change of the protein structure due to a change in the length of the polypeptide

Question 3

What are silent mutations

Answer 3

Mutations that do not affect protein structure and therefor maintain protein function

Question 4

What are the 2 ways a mutation can be silent

Answer 4

• The mutation may have occurred in a non-coding region of a gene (intron)
• The genetic code is degenerate - the new codon may code for the same amino acid as the original codon

Question 5

What are missense mutations

Answer 5

Mutations which change the amino acid sequence of a protein