Protein Synthesis Lab

     Protein is made by reading the DNA instructions. You start with a strand of DNA that contains the code to create protein. The DNA is unwounded by the RNA polymerase and it is turned into single stranded RNA. The RNA is the complimentary strand of the DNA copied and all Thymine bases are turned into Uracil. mRNA goes to the ribosome where the protein is assembled. tRNA takes 3 bases, or a codon, and matches it to a amino acid which the ribosome attaches to the amino acid strand. This forms an amino acid strand which turns into a protein.

    In our lab, we found that substitution causes the least effect. Only one letter of one codon was changed which at most could change one amino acid but it didn't in our lab. Deletion of the T caused the biggest effect on the protein in our experiment. Every amino acid after the error was changed. It does not matter where the substitution takes place because it will always cause little error. The level of change caused by insertion and deletion depend on where there position was. If the deletion of the T was near the end, it wouldn't have changed as much.

    I added 2 deletions and one insertion near the beginning to create the biggest change. Frameshift mutations like deletions and insertions create the most changes. Having them close to the beginning created the most changes because everything after the mutation changes. I had 2 deletions because they showed the most diversity in the lab. I didn't have three of the same mutation because it has a chance of not changing all the acids after the mutation.

    Mutations are very important because they have the potential to cause life threatening changes or potentially helpful traits. One example of a harmful mutation is proteus syndrome. One mutation in the AKT1 gene causes this disorder. It causes body parts, specifically the limbs and head, to become very big. This could potentially cause premature death do to deep vein thrombosis and your neck not being able to support the weight of your head if it affects your head.