Question

Define the following terms

• Posttranslational modifications
• frame - shift mutation

Explain how the above processes affect proteins' structure?

Answer 1

Definition of post-translational modifications:

The physical or chemical changes that a protein undergoes after the process of protein synthesis (translation) is complete, are called post-translational modificatmodifications.

Post-translational modifications include addition of groups like hydroxyl or phosphate to the protein, proteolytic cleavage, ubiquitylation, etc.

Definition of frameshift mutation:

The kind of mutation in which reading frame of codons in mRNA is alteted due to addition or removal of a nucleotide in DNA.

How the above processes affect protein structure:

Post-translational modifications causes change in folding patterns of protein due to chemical modifications and thus alters it's structure.

On the other hand, frameshift mutation changes the primary sequence of proteins, and since different amino acids have different role to play in protein structure, an altered sequence leads to change in protein structure.