The Genetic Code, Mutations, and Translation

A very common type of mutation is a single base alteration or point mutation. 

Silent new codon specifies same amino add i None 

Missense new codon specifies different amino acid Possible decrease in function variable effects 

Nonsense new codon is stop codon Shorter than normal usually nonfunctional 

Prameshift deletion or addition of a base Usually nonfunctional often shorter than normal 

---

Not all mutations are harmful. PNA bases that code for in )lypeptides occur as a series of triplets. Each triplet is called a codon and codes either for a specific amino add, or for a translation stop signal. Please recall that the genetic code is degenerate and that some amino adds are coded for by more than one type of codon. Hence, a mutated base may change the codon, but with no alteration of the amino acid that is coded. Furthermore, a change in amino acid may or may not result in a change in function of the polypeptide. 

A point mutation affects a single nucleotide it may consist of a) substitution of a different nucleotide, b) loss of a nucleotide (deletion) or c) insertion of an extra nucleotide. In each case the nucleotide sequence is altered in b and c, the reading frame , or division of the sequence into triplets to be translated into amino acid (see Genetic code. Protein biosynthesis) is shifted, with severe effects on the protein product of the gene if it is a structural gene. 

The evolutionary process of a genetic algorithm is accomplished by genetic operators which translate the evolutionary concepts of selection, recombination or crossover, and mutation into data processing to solve an optimization problem dynamically. Possible solutions to the problem are coded as so-called artificial chromosomes, which are changed and adapted throughout the optimization process until an optimrun solution is obtained. 

---