Each gene is made up of a long sequence of substances called nucleotides; these nucleotides, taken in series of three at a time, specify each amino acid subunit of a protein (see nucleic acid). In a frameshift mutation, a nucleotide is added or deleted to the sequence and the decoding of the entire gene sequence will be radically altered and the amino acid sequence of the protein produced will also be very different. Often the resulting protein is totally ineffective.…
