Question

A mutation in the gene encoding a protein

• A. may lead to change in the primary structure of protein
• B. may lead to change in the secondary structure of protein
• C. may sometimes lead to missense or nonsense mutations
• D. all of the above

Answer 1

The correct option is D all of the above

Mutation is a change in the sequence of DNA.

If mutation happens in the coding sequences of DNA, it could lead to a change in amino acid sequence due to which the primary structure of the protein can be altered.

A change in the primary structure may affect the secondary structure of the protein as well.

A change in even a single amino acid may change its structure entirely.

Due to the change in the shape of the protein, its function may also be hampered or completely lost.

In case of missense mutation, there is change in amino acid from one to another and in nonsense mutation the codon coding for an amino acid is modified to a stop codon that doesn’t specify any amino acid leading to termination of protein synthesis.