What are point mutations and frameshift mutations?

Point mutations and frameshift mutations are two types of genetic mutations that differ in how they alter the DNA sequence and affect protein synthesis.

A point mutation involves a change in a single nucleotide base pair. This can occur as:

• Substitution: one base is replaced by another
  Depending on the effect, point mutations can be:

• Silent (no change in amino acid)

• Missense (change in one amino acid)

• Nonsense (creation of a stop codon)

Point mutations usually affect only one codon, so their impact may be limited or moderate depending on the position and type of change.

A frameshift mutation occurs when nucleotides are inserted or deleted from the DNA sequence in numbers not divisible by three. This shifts the reading frame of codons during translation, altering every subsequent amino acid in the sequence.

Frameshift mutations typically have more severe consequences because they disrupt the entire downstream protein structure, often leading to non-functional proteins.

Overall, while point mutations affect a single position, frameshift mutations change the entire reading frame, making them generally more harmful to protein function.