Name: Section:

ACTIVITY : GENETIC CODE & MUTATION

Objectives:

• Transcribe and translate a segment of DNA model.

• Identify the types of mutation.

Things to remember:

• In transcription of DNA to mRNA, this is the nitrogenous base pairing followed:

o A in DNA always pairs with U in mRNA; T in DNA pairs with A in mRNA
o C always pairs with G; G always pairs with C
• Codon is a triplet of nitrogenous bases in mRNA. Anticodon is a nitrogenous base triplet found in tRNA. Codons &
anticodons pair up during translation.
• Mutation – It refers to change in DNA nucleotide sequence that may result to change in protein structure.

Procedures:

Part A. Protein synthesis using Genetic Code Chart

1. Familiarize yourself on how a DNA template is transcribed into mRNA template then translate into amino acid chain by
watching this video:

Video (3 min.) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAPuSxMxugA

 2. Practice transcription of DNA to mRNA and translation of mRNA to amino acid chain or protein below:

DNA Template Strand

T A C T T T C G C G A A A C C C C T T C T G G G A A A A T C

mRNA codons
A U G G U U

tRNA anticodons
U A C

Amino acid chain / Protein strand

Met/ Start

Part B. Mutation

Mutation is an alteration in the nucleotide sequence of the genome of an organism often caused by exposure to
ionizing radiation or harmful chemicals. These are three types of gene mutations or mutation that occur in the sequence of
nitrogenous bases in DNA.

I. Substitution – one base pair is substituted for another.

i. Nonsense mutation – when one nucleotide is substituted, and this leads to formation of a stop codon
instead of a codon that codes for an amino acid.
ii. Missense mutation – when one nucleotide is substituted and a different codon is formed; but this time,
the codon that is forms is not a stop codon
iii. Silent mutation – a nucleotide is substituted but the same amino acid is produced anyway.
II. Deletion – a base pair is deleted from a sequence.
III. Insertion – an extra base pair is added to a sequence of bases.

You may watch this short video for further explanation. Start watching from 1:52 up to 3:12 only.

Video (1:52 up to
3:12 only)
https://www.yo
utube.com/watch?v
=vl6Vlf2thvI
3. A short segment of a hypothetical normal DNA that codes for a Normal DNA nitrogenous base sequence
protein is shown on the right side. T A C C G C A T G T T T

mRNA codon
4. Mutated versions of the hypothetical DNA segment are shown A U G G C G U A C A A A
below. Transcribe and translate them into amino acid chain using
the genetic code chart in page 1. Then, determine the type of Amino acid chain/Protein
mutation that occur in each of them. Met/ Start Ala Tyr Lys

Normal DNA nitrogenous base sequence Normal DNA nitrogenous base sequence
T A C C G C A T G T T T T A C C G C A T G T T T

Case#1. Mutated DNA nitrogenous base sequence Case#2. Mutated DNA nitrogenous base sequence
T A C C G C A T A T T T T A C C G C A T C T T T

mRNA codon mRNA codon

A U G A U G

Amino acid chain/Protein Amino acid chain/Protein

Met/ Start Met/ Start

Type of Mutation: Type of Mutation:

Normal DNA nitrogenous base sequence Normal DNA nitrogenous base sequence
T A C C G C A T G T T T T A C C G C A T G T T T

Case#3. Mutated DNA nitrogenous base sequence Case#4. Mutated DNA nitrogenous base sequence
T A C C G C A T G C T T T A C C G A C A T G T T T

mRNA codon mRNA codon

A U G A U G

Amino acid chain/Protein Amino acid chain/Protein

Met/ Start Met/ Start

Type of Mutation: Type of Mutation:

Normal DNA nitrogenous base sequence

T A C C G C A T G T T T

Case#5. Mutated DNA nitrogenous base sequence

T A C G C A T G T T T

mRNA codon
A U G

Amino acid chain/Protein

Met/ Start

Type of Mutation:

References:
• Project ISuLAT Activity Sheets in Science 10 – Week 4