Which is a point mutation and not a frameshift mutation?
1: mutagen
2: insertion
3: deletion
4: silent
Answer: : 4: silent
A silent mutation is just one type of point mutation that does not cause the amino acid sequence of the protein to change. It results whenever a different nucleotide is incorporated into the DNA sequence without affecting the triplet codon which encodes for a specific amino acid. By that very finding, the new cordon arising from the mutation still encapsulates the same amino acid as the preceding cordon. Although silent mutations are known as neutral mutations because of the fact that they do not change the structure and functioning of the protein, they can still induce a change in codon usage by replacing synonymous codons. The differentiation between insertions and deletions, the two frameshift mutations that affect the protein sequence in a radical way and silent mutations which do not shift the reading frame is an imperative point. Answer: : The correct option is 4.