Will Mutations Affect Amino Acid Sequences?

Some mutations do not result in changes in the amino acid sequence of the encoded protein and can be described as silent mutations. Other mutations result in abnormal protein products. Mutations can introduce new alleles into a population of organisms and increase the population's genetic variation.

What mutations affect one amino acid?

A nonsense variant is another type of substitution. Instead of causing a change in one amino acid, however, the altered DNA sequence results in a stop signal that prematurely signals the cell to stop building a protein.

Do mutations always cause a change in the amino acid sequence?

While mutations always change the DNA sequence, they do not always cause a change in the resulting protein or an obvious effect on the organism. This can occur because most amino acids can be coded by two or more different codons.