A change to any of the bases in DNA can cause a change in the order of amino acids in the protein coded for by the gene
In a DNA sequence, a single bas was changed. Why was the amino acid sequence not changed?
Different base triplets (sequence of 3 bases) can sometimes encode for the same amino acid - so the change in base (mutation) has had no effect on the protein's shape or function
Mutations happen all the time
If a mutation causes and enzyme to change shape, its active site may no longer fit into the substrate
If a mutation causes a structural protein to change shape, it may lose its length
Not al parts of DNA code for proteins
Non coding parts of DNA can switch genes on and off so that they can control when genes produce proteins - mutations in these areas of DNA can affect how a gene is expressed
