Question

A mutation in a gene leads to a protein that is less sensitive to ubiquitin. Compared with the normal version of this gene, we should expect to see _______ levels of RNA and _______ levels of protein in the mutant.

a) higher; similar
b) similar; lower
c) lower; lower
d) similar; higher
e) higher; higher

Answer 1

Mutation in a gene leading to a protein less sensitive to ubiquitin results in similar RNA levels but higher protein levels, due to slower degradation of the mutant protein.

Step-by-step explanation:

We should expect to see similar levels of RNA and higher levels of protein in the mutant. The mutation that leads to a protein less sensitive to ubiquitin will not affect the mRNA levels directly, because ubiquitination is a post-translational modification. Since the mutant protein will be ubiquitinated at a lower rate, it will not be marked for degradation as quickly as the normal protein, leading to increased protein accumulation. However, RNA levels are unaffected because they are determined by transcriptional and post-transcriptional processes such as splicing, nucleotide modification, and RNA stability, rather than by ubiquitination of the resultant protein.