A particular mRNA is 300 nucleotides long.If a mutation in the middle of the sequence changed a codon from a AAA to a UAA then what would be a reasonable prediction?
A)The protein coded by this mRNA would be the same size.
B)The protein coded by this mRNA would not form due to a failure in initiation.
C)The protein coded by this mRNA would be longer.
D)The protein coded by this mRNA would kill the cell.
E)The protein coded by this mRNA would be shorter.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

A change from AAA to UAA is a nonsense mutation which causes premature termination of translation. This means that the ribosome will stop synthesizing the protein at this point, resulting in a truncated protein. Since the mutation occurs in the middle of the mRNA sequence, the resulting protein would be shorter than the original protein.

A Particular MRNA Is 300 Nucleotides Long