The two gels illustrated contain dideoxynucleotide DNA-sequencing information for a wild-type segment and mutant segment of DNA corresponding to the N-terminal end of a protein. The start codon and the next five codons are sequenced.

Determine the amino acid sequences translated from these mRNAs.

Key Concepts

DNA Sequencing

DNA sequencing is the process of determining the precise order of nucleotides within a DNA molecule. In this context, dideoxynucleotide sequencing, also known as Sanger sequencing, is used to identify the nucleotide sequence of the wild-type and mutant DNA segments. This information is crucial for understanding genetic variations and their potential effects on protein synthesis.

Codons and Translation

Codons are sequences of three nucleotides in mRNA that correspond to specific amino acids during protein synthesis. The translation process involves ribosomes reading the mRNA codons and assembling the corresponding amino acids to form a polypeptide chain. Understanding how codons translate into amino acids is essential for determining the resulting protein sequences from the given mRNA.

Mutations and Their Effects

Mutations are changes in the DNA sequence that can lead to alterations in the amino acid sequence of proteins. These changes can be silent, missense, or nonsense mutations, each having different implications for protein function. Analyzing the differences between the wild-type and mutant sequences helps in understanding how specific mutations can affect the structure and function of the resulting protein.