What term describes changes in one or a few nucleotides?

What term describes changes in one or a few nucleotides?

• A. Point mutation
• B. Frameshift mutation
• C. Mutagen
• D. Genome

Answer: (A)

Small changes in the DNA at a single base pair are described as a point mutation. This term captures substitutions where one nucleotide is replaced by another, and it can also describe very minor changes in a small region of DNA. The effect on a protein depends on whether the codon changes to a different amino acid, to the same amino acid (silent), or to a stop codon. If a mutation involves inserting or deleting nucleotides and shifts the reading frame, that would be a frameshift mutation, which is a different category with typically larger downstream effects. A mutagen is simply an agent that causes mutations, and the genome is the entire set of genetic material.

Small changes in the DNA at a single base pair are described as a point mutation. This term captures substitutions where one nucleotide is replaced by another, and it can also describe very minor changes in a small region of DNA. The effect on a protein depends on whether the codon changes to a different amino acid, to the same amino acid (silent), or to a stop codon. If a mutation involves inserting or deleting nucleotides and shifts the reading frame, that would be a frameshift mutation, which is a different category with typically larger downstream effects. A mutagen is simply an agent that causes mutations, and the genome is the entire set of genetic material.