Cell Mutation

Cell Mutation

Summary

The page explains how mutations in DNA can occur. There are various types of mutations: point, frame-shift, deletion, insertion, and inversion. DNA is read in three or fewer letter words, essentially. The position of the letters in the words affects how the DNA makes proteins. In a point mutation, one letter is substituted for another letter. For example, aaa bbb ccc ddd might become aaa byb ccc ddd. In a frame-shift mutation, one or more letters are inserted or deleted in the sequence. An example might be aaa bbc ccd dd. Every "word" after the shift is changed. Deletion and insertion are when one or more letters are deleted or inserted from the sequence, respectively. This often results in a frame-shift mutation as well, unless full "words" were deleted/inserted. An inversion mutation is when an entire part of the sequence is switched around, possibly large parts of a chromosome containing many genes. This might be add dcc cbb baa. Mutations sometimes, rather than changing the protein being made, change when and where the protein is made. This can be potentially bad for the cell, for example, if not enough of an enzyme is produced.

Relevance

We learned in class a lot about proteins and enzymes during the lab. If the DNA stated the wrong thing due to these mutations, imagine the catalase not working fast enough in the first lab we did- under control conditions. If cells did not produce enough catalase, or any protein (or too much), we learned that the cell and many other cells would be damaged. Proteins build cells, keep that in mind.

Information

URL: http://www.genetichealth.com/g101_changes_in_dna.shtml
Author: Amanda Ewart Toland
Date of Publication: October 3, 2011