Why Is a Single Base Mutation Less Severe Than a Triplet Base Mutation?

[crays]

Hi, i would like to ask why is addition or deletion of one base in mutation is not as severe as addition or deletion of 3 base in mutation? If it were to make enzyme the shape would be gone right?

 

[Ygggdrasil]

Addition or deletion of one base in a protein coding sequence is much more severe than addition or deletion of 3 bases.

 

[epenguin]

Hi, i would like to ask why is addition or deletion of one base in mutation is not as severe as addition or deletion of 3 base in mutation? If it were to make enzyme the shape would be gone right?

Er, isn't this exactly the wrong way round? And wasn't that the first evidence produced for the triplet code? Check your books.

 

[crays]

Woopz, i apologize. I typed wrongly. Yeah, but why is addition/deletion of 1 base much more severe than the addition/deletion of 3 base? The shape would still be gone right?

 

[epenguin]

Well I mentioned the triplet code so, unusually for biology, you could maybe work it out in theory as one is supposed to do at this site. Even if you know rather little about 'translation'. As they knew little about translation when they worked it out originally.