Bio~Part 3 (Gene Structure & Mutations)

Promoter

A component of gene structure that initiates transcription.

Exons

Coding regions within a gene that are translated into proteins.

Introns

Non-coding regions within a gene that are removed during RNA processing.

Stop Codon (Gene Structure)

A component of gene structure that signals the termination of translation.

Poly-A Signal

A component of gene structure that induces the addition of a poly-A tail during mRNA processing.

Point Mutation

A change in a single base pair of DNA.

Insertion/Deletion Mutation

The addition or removal of bases in DNA; can lead to a frameshift mutation which alters the subsequent amino acid sequence.

Missense Mutation

A type of mutation that results in a different amino acid being incorporated into the protein.

Nonsense Mutation

A type of mutation that introduces a premature stop codon during translation.

Silent Mutation

A type of mutation where there is no change in the amino acid sequence despite a nucleotide change.

Frameshift Mutation

A type of mutation that alters the reading frame downstream, usually leading to significant changes in the protein sequence and is often detrimental.