PRACTICE QUESTIONS (Mutations & Operons) - Unit 6 L8 & L9

Front

What are mutagens?

Back

Mutagens are agents that cause mutations in DNA, leading to changes in the genetic material. Examples include radiation, certain chemicals, and viruses.

Front

What is a chromosomal mutation?

Back

A chromosomal mutation is a change in the structure or number of chromosomes, which can affect many genes and lead to significant changes in an organism.

Front

What is a point mutation?

Back

A point mutation is a change in a single nucleotide base pair in DNA, which can result in different types of mutations such as silent, missense, or nonsense mutations.

Front

What is a silent mutation?

Back

A silent mutation is a type of point mutation that does not change the amino acid sequence of a protein, often because of the redundancy in the genetic code.

Front

What is a missense mutation?

Back

A missense mutation is a point mutation that results in the substitution of one amino acid for another in a protein, potentially altering its function.

Front

What is a nonsense mutation?

Back

A nonsense mutation is a point mutation that creates a premature stop codon in the protein sequence, leading to a truncated and usually nonfunctional protein.

Front

What is a frameshift mutation?

Back

A frameshift mutation occurs when nucleotides are inserted or deleted from the DNA sequence, altering the reading frame and potentially changing all subsequent amino acids.

Front

What is the difference between insertion and deletion mutations?

Back

Insertion mutations add one or more nucleotide bases into the DNA sequence, while deletion mutations remove one or more bases, both causing frameshift mutations.

Front

What are operons?

Back

Operons are clusters of genes under the control of a single promoter, allowing coordinated regulation of gene expression, primarily found in prokaryotic cells.

Front

What is the function of a promoter in gene regulation?

Back

A promoter is a DNA sequence that initiates transcription of a gene, serving as a binding site for RNA polymerase and transcription factors.