Alan Garen extensively studied a particular nonsense (chain-termination) mutation in the alkaline phosphatase gene of E. coli.
Question:
Alan Garen extensively studied a particular nonsense (chain-termination) mutation in the alkaline phosphatase gene of E. coli. This mutation resulted in the termination of the alkaline phosphatase polypeptide chain at a position where the amino acid tryptophan occurred in the wild-type polypeptide. Garen induced revertants (in this case, mutations altering the same codon) of this mutant with chemical mutagens that induced single base-pair substitutions and sequenced the polypeptides in the revertants. Seven different types of revertants were found, each with a different amino acid at the tryptophan position of the wild-type polypeptide (termination position of the mutant polypeptide fragment). The amino acids present at this position in the various revertants included tryptophan, serine, tyrosine, leucine, glutamic acid, glutamine, and lysine. Did the nonsense mutation studied by Garen contain a UAG, a UAA, or a UGA nonsense mutation? Explain the basis of your deduction.
Step by Step Answer:
Principles of Genetics
ISBN: 978-1119142287
7th edition
Authors: D. Peter Snustad, Michael J. Simmons