Base Pairs and Mutations
Biology
Level
2
The polypeptide chain for a protein reads, in part, Met-Gly-Val-Ser-Leu. The DNA coding for the protein has been altered, and the corresponding RNA reads as follows: AUGGGUGUAAGUUUG. What type of mutation has the DNA undergone?
Frameshift mutation
Silent mutation
Missense error
Nonsense error
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1 solution
AUGGGUGUAAGUUUG codes for the same amino acid chain as the one given in the problem: Met-Gly-Val-Ser-Leu. Since the polypeptide chain has remained the same, this is a silent mutation. The position of the silent mutation cannot be ascertained without information about the original DNA strand. For example, the correct transcription may have been AUGGGGGUAAGUUUG (a silent mutation still leading to glycine as the second amino acid in the chain), but it could just as easily have been AUGGGUGUAAGUUUA (a silent mutation in leucine) or any of several other mutations.