What causes frameshift mutation? ?
An insertion or a deletion will cause a frameshift mutation. DNA is transcribed into RNA mRNA is then read in sets of 3 letters. These sets are called codons. If you insert a letter into the DNA, it will mess up the mRNA sequence by changing the identity of the codons. For example: You have a DNA strand that reads: CAGATGTTGAACGCT If we separate out what will become the codons with spaces, we get: CAG ATG TTG AAC GCT So if we insert an A in the first codon, we now get: CAA GAT GTT GAA CGC T Likewise, if we delete the C in the first codon, we get: AGA TGT TGA ACG CT Both of these mess up our sequence and eventually what be translated into amino acids. These are examples of frameshift mutations.
