[Campbell Biology P.406] What is the primary difference between a silent mutation and a miss... | Practice Question

What is the primary difference between a silent mutation and a missense mutation?

  • A: A silent mutation changes the DNA sequence but not the mRNA, while a missense mutation changes both.
  • B: A silent mutation results in no change to the amino acid sequence, whereas a missense mutation results in a change to a different amino acid.
  • C: Silent mutations are always beneficial, while missense mutations are always harmful.
  • D: Silent mutations occur in non-coding regions, while missense mutations occur in coding regions.

Explanation

Silent mutations are nucleotide-pair substitutions that, due to the redundancy of the genetic code, do not change the amino acid sequence of the protein. Missense mutations, on the other hand, are nucleotide-pair substitutions that change one amino acid to another. While silent mutations typically have no observable phenotypic effect, missense mutations can have varied effects depending on the nature of the amino acid change and its location in the protein.