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A frameshift mutation that results in the insertion of three nucleotides is often less deleterious than a mutation that results in the insertion of one nucleotide. Why?

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User Djn
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1 Answer

5 votes
A frame shift mutation that results in the insertion of 3 nucleotides doesn’t reading frame of the downstream codons and proteins they will be made into.

A mutation that inserts a single nucleotide ultimately will change the reading frame and all of the codons (3 nucleotides) downstream of that insertion will make a different protein than they were suppose to or a stop codon could be made which will completely stop that protein from being made.

Example: AUG UAU ACU CAC
The example above will encode for the following proteins.

met, Tyr, Thr, His

3 nucleotide insertion in this example could be:

AUG UAU AAU ACU CAC

met, Tyr, Asn, Thr, His

1 nucleotide insertion mutation:

Example: AUG UAA U ACU CAC

Met, stop codon

Nucleotides after the A insertion are not made into proteins.

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User Gsthina
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