DNA mutations happen when there are changes in thenucleotide sequence

that makes up the strand of DNA. This can be caused by random mistakes in
DNA replication or even an environmental influence like UV rays or chemicals.
The changes at the nucleotide level then influence
the transcription andtranslation from gene to protein expression. Changing
even just one nitrogen base in a sequence can change the amino acid that is
expressed by that DNA codon which can lead to a completely different protein
being expressed. These mutations range from being non-harmful all the way
up to causing death.
Point Mutations
A point mutation is usually the least harmful of the types of DNA mutations. It
is the change of a single nitrogen base in a DNA sequence. Depending on the
placement of that nitrogen base in the codon, it can cause no affect to the
protein. Codons are a sequence of three nitrogen bases in a row that is "read"
bymessenger RNA during transcription and then that messengerRNA codon
is translated into an amino acid that goes on to make a protein that will be
expressed by the organism.
Since there are only 20 amino acids and a total of 64 possible combinations
for codons, some amino acids are coded for by more than one codon. Often, if
the third nitrogen base in the codon is changed, it will not change the amino
acid. This is called the wobble effect. If the point mutation occurs in the third
nitrogen base in a codon, then it causes no effect on the amino acid or
subsequent protein and the mutation does not change the organism.
At most, a point mutation will cause a single amino acid in a protein to
change. While this usually is not a deadly mutation, it can cause issues with
that protein's folding pattern and the tertiary and quaternary structures of the
protein.
One example of a point mutation is Sickle Cell Anemia. A point mutation
caused a single nitrogen base in a codon for one amino acid in the protein
called glutamic acid to instead code for the amino acid valine. This single

small change causes a normally round red blood cell to instead be sickle
shaped.
Frame Shift Mutations
Frame shift mutations are much more serious and deadly than point
mutations. Even though only one nitrogen base is affected just like in point
mutations, this time the single base is either completely deleted or an extra
one is inserted into the middle of a DNA sequence. This change in sequence
causes the reading frame to shift, hence the name frame shift mutation.
A reading frame shift changes the three letter long codon sequence for
messenger RNA to transcribe and translate. Not only is that amino acid
changed, all subsequent amino acids are changed. This significantly changes
the protein and can cause severe problems and even possibly death.
Insertions
One type of frame shift mutation is called an insertion. Just as the name
implies, an insertion occurs when a single nitrogen base is accidentally added
in the middle of the sequence. This throws off the reading frame of the DNA
and the wrong amino acid is translated. It also pushes the entire sequence
down by one letter, changing all codons that come after the insertion and
therefore completely altering the protein.
Even though inserting a nitrogen base makes the overall sequence longer,
that does not necessarily mean the amino acid chain length will increase. In
fact, it could seriously shorten the amino acid chain. If the insertion causes a
shift in the codons to create a stop signal, a protein may never be made.
Otherwise, an incorrect protein will be made. If the protein that has been
changed was essential for life, then most likely the organism will die.
Deletions
The other type of frame shift mutation is called a deletion. This happens when
a nitrogen base is taken out of the sequence. Again, this causes the entire
reading frame to change. It changes the codon and will also affect all amino

acids that are coded for after the deletion. Nonsense and stop codons may
also appear in the wrong places, much like an insertion.
DNA Mutation Analogy
Much like reading text, the DNA sequence is "read" by messenger RNA to
produce a "story" or an amino acid chain that will be used to make a protein.
Since each codon is 3 letters long, let's see what happens when a "mutation"
occurs in a sentence that uses only three letter words.
THE RED CAT ATE THE RAT.
If there was a point mutation, the sentence would change to:
THC RED CAT ATE THE RAT.
The "e" in the word "the" mutated into the letter "c". While the first word in the
sentence is no longer the same, the rest of the words still make sense and are
what they are supposed to be.
If an insertion were to mutate the above sentence, then it might read:
THE CRE DCA TAT ETH ERA T.
The insertion of the letter "c" after the word "the" completely changes the rest
of the sentence. Not only is the second word no longer readable, neither are
any words after it. The entire sentence has changed into nonsense.
A deletion would do something similar to the sentence:
THE EDC ATA TET HER AT.
In the example above, the "r" that should have come after the word "the" has
been deleted. Again, it changes the entire sentence. Even though in this
example, some of the subsequent words are readable, the meaning of the
sentence has completely changed. This shows that even if codons are
changed into something that isn't nonsense, it still completely changes the
protein into something that is no longer functional.