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frameshift mutation

  (frām'shĭft')
n.

A mutation in a DNA chain that occurs when the number of nucleotides inserted or deleted is not a multiple of three, so that every codon beyond the point of insertion or deletion is read incorrectly during translation.


 
 
Wikipedia: frameshift mutation
For the progressive rock/metal band, see Frameshift (band)

A frameshift mutation (also called a frameshift or a framing error) is a genetic mutation caused by indels, ie. inserts or deletes a number of nucleotides that is not evenly divisible by three from a DNA sequence. Due to the triplet nature of gene expression by codons, the insertion or deletion can disrupt the reading frame, or the grouping of the codons, resulting in a completely different translation from the original. The earlier in the sequence the deletion or insertion occurs, the more altered the protein produced is.

A frameshift mutation causes the reading of codons to be different, so all codons after the mutation (with a few exceptions due to redundancy) will code for different amino acids. Furthermore, the stop codon "UAA, UGA, or UAG" will not be read, or a stop codon could be created at an earlier site. The protein being created could be abnormally short, abnormally long, and/or contain the wrong amino acids. It will most likely not be functional.

Frameshift mutations frequently result in severe genetic diseases. A frameshift mutation is responsible for the disabling of the CCR5 HIV receptor and some types of familial hypercholesterolemia (Lewis, 2005, p. 227-228). Frameshift mutations can also be beneficial.

Frameshifting may also occur during protein translation, producing different proteins from overlapping open reading frames, such as the gag-pol-env retroviral proteins. This is fairly common in viruses and also occurs in bacteria and yeast (Farabaugh, 1996).

Reference

Farabaugh, P. J. 1996. Programmed translational frameshifting. Microbiol. Rev. 60:103-4.

Lewis, R. 2005. Human Genetics: Concepts and Applications, 6th Ed. McGraw Hill, New York.

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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Frameshift mutation" Read more

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