[Campbell Biology P.407] According to Figure 17.27 a , what is the primary characteristic of... | Practice Question

According to Figure 17.27 a , what is the primary characteristic of a silent mutation caused by a nucleotide-pair substitution?

  • A: It results in a complete loss of protein function.
  • B: It leads to the premature termination of protein synthesis.
  • C: It causes a change in the amino acid sequence, but the new amino acid has similar properties to the original.
  • D: It alters the DNA and mRNA sequences but does not change the encoded amino acid sequence.

Explanation

A silent mutation is a type of nucleotide-pair substitution that alters the DNA sequence, which in turn leads to an altered mRNA sequence. However, due to the degeneracy of the genetic code, this change does not result in a different amino acid being incorporated into the polypeptide, hence the term 'silent'.