deletion mutation


read·ing-·frame·shift mu·ta·tion

a mutation that results from insertion or deletion of a single nucleotide into, or from, the normal DNA sequence; because the genetic code is read three nucleotides at a time, all nucleotide triplets distal to the mutation will be one step out of phase and misread, and hence translated as different amino acids. Synonym(s): addition mutation, addition-deletion mutation, deletion mutation, frameshift mutation

deletion mutation

a type of MUTATION in which genetic material is removed from chromosomes or other DNA molecules (see CHROMOSOMAL MUTATION, POINT MUTATION). The deletion can be as small as a single DNA base (which can cause a misreading of the base sequence during PROTEIN SYNTHESIS, see FRAMESHIFT) to a large tract of DNA containing many GENES.