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12 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What causes a gene mutation? |
An alteration in the sequence of bases within a gene Any change in an organism's DNA |
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What're point mutations? |
A single base change in the DNA sequence |
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How can point mutation occur? |
It can happen when DNA polymerase inserts the wrong base during DNA replication, and when RNA polymerase inserts the wrong base during transcription. |
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Would a single base change affect the organism? |
It would always affect the genotype (the actual gene) but it may not affect the phenotype (the character the gene codes for) |
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A silent mutation refers to what? |
A mutation that causes a change in the nucleotide sequence, but not the amino acid sequence (Ex. if CUA became CUG, they're both still Leucine) |
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A missense mutation refers to what? |
This is a change in the nucleotide sequence that DOES change the amino acid. |
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Are missense mutations always harmful? |
It may or may not be depending on the change and the role of the amino acid. |
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What is a nonsense mutation? |
This is a mutation that changes the nucleotide sequence and the amino acid sequence and will change the primary structure of the protein, which will for sure alter it's function. |
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Define a frameshift mutation |
It is the insertion or deletion of a nucleotide altering how the strand is read |
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Are frameshift mutations harmful? |
They usually result in a completely unusable protein, so, yes. |
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What are transposons? |
They are specific sequences of DNA that move within and between chromosomes. |
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Why're transposons vital for evolution? |
They have the ability to alter gene expression |
