Question

When a mutation changes a nucleotide but the amino acid that the codon codes for is still conserved, you get the same amino acid.

A) Silent mutation
B) Missense mutation
C) Nonsense mutation
D) Frameshift mutation

Answer 1

A silent mutation is when a nucleotide change does not result in a different amino acid incorporated into a protein, leaving the phenotype unchanged. This mutation is due to the redundancy in the genetic code.

Step-by-step explanation:

When a mutation changes a nucleotide, but the amino acid that the codon codes for remains the same, the mutation is referred to as a silent mutation. This means that even though the DNA sequence has been altered, the mutation does not result in a different amino acid being incorporated into the protein during translation. As a result, the phenotype, or the physical manifestation of the gene, is unchanged. Silent mutations occur due to the redundancy in the genetic code, where multiple codons can code for the same amino acid.

Here are the other types of mutations for comparison:

• Missense mutation: A change in one DNA base pair that results in the substitution of one amino acid for another in the protein.
• Nonsense mutation: A substitution in a DNA base pair that leads to the appearance of a stop codon where previously there was a codon for an amino acid, resulting in a truncated protein.
• Frameshift mutation: Insertions or deletions of DNA bases that change the reading frame of the gene.