Which of the following mutations would be most likely to have a harmful effect on an organism?(1 point)

Question

Responses

a substitution of a thymine for an adenine
a substitution of a thymine for an adenine

there is not enough information to know whether a mutation would be harmful
there is not enough information to know whether a mutation would be harmful

all mutations have a harmful effect on organisms
all mutations have a harmful effect on organisms

a deletion of 3 bases near the center of a gene
a deletion of 3 bases near the center of a gene

Answer 1

The mutation that would be most likely to have a harmful effect on an organism is:

a deletion of 3 bases near the center of a gene

This is because deleting three bases will remove one amino acid from the protein, potentially altering its function. If this critical part of the protein is essential for its activity or stability, it could lead to detrimental effects on the organism. In contrast, a substitution mutation (thymine for adenine) may or may not have effects depending on whether it changes an amino acid or not and its location in the gene. Not all mutations are harmful, so the other options are less likely to be categorized as such.