Definition of Silent Mutation



A silent mutation is a type of change in the sequence of the nitrogenous bases present in the DNA molecule that does not change the subsequent amino acids and hence the function of the resulting protein also remains the same. Sometimes, it happens that single amino acid in a protein gets replaced but a very little or no change is caused to the properties and functions of the protein.

 


Example of Silent Mutation:

If the sequence of an mRNA is AUGUUCCGA, the resulting sequence of the amino acids would be methionine, phenylalanine and arginine. Now if one of the bases gets changed i.e. AUGUUUCGA, then the amino acids sequence would still remain the same i.e. methionine, phenylalanine and arginine. This is known as a silent mutation.

 

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