Explanation
A frameshift mutation (also called a framing error or a reading frame shift) is a genetic mutation caused by indels (insertions or deletions) of a number of nucleotides in a DNA sequence that is not divisible by three. Due to the triplet nature of gene expression by codons, the insertion or deletion can change the reading frame (the grouping of the codons), resulting in a completely different translation from the original. The earlier in the sequence the deletion or insertion occurs, the more altered the protein.A frameshift mutation is not the same as a single-nucleotide polymorphism in which a nucleotide is replaced, rather than inserted or deleted. A frameshift mutation will in general cause the reading of the codons after the mutation to code for different amino acids. The frameshift mutation will also alter the first stop codon ("UAA", "UGA" or "UAG") encountered in the sequence. The polypeptide being created could be abnormally short or abnormally long, and will most likely not be functional.
In 1956 Francis Crick described the flow of genetic information from DNA to a specific amino acid arrangement for making a protein as the central dogma.For a cell to properly function, proteins are required to be produced accurately for structural and for catalytic activities. An incorrectly made protein can have detrimental effects on cell viability and in most cases cause the higher organism to become unhealthy by abnormal cellular functions. To ensure that the genome successfully passes the information on, proofreading mechanisms such as exonucleases and mismatch repair systems are incorporated in DNA replication
