197k views
10 votes
Which small-scale mutation would be most likely to have a catastrophic effect on the functioning of a protein?.

User Wint
by
7.0k points

1 Answer

11 votes

Answer:

A mutation in DNA generates a UGA stop codon in the middle of the mRNA coding for a particular protein. A second mutation in the cell's DNA leads to a single nucleotide change in a tRNA that allows the correct translation of this protein; that is, the second mutation 'suppresses" the defect caused by the first. The altered tRNA translates the UGA as tryptophan. What nucleotide change has probably occurred in the mutant tRNA molecule? What consequences would the presence of such a mutant tRNA have for the translation of the normal genes in this cell?

User Harjot Singh
by
5.9k points