Question

Which type of mutation would have the greatest impact on the inheritance of a trait?(1 point)
Responses

A nonsense mutation that affects the last amino acid of a protein before the stop codon in a gamete.
A nonsense mutation that affects the last amino acid of a protein before the stop codon in a gamete.

A silent mutation that affects an amino acid within the active site of a protein in a body cell.
A silent mutation that affects an amino acid within the active site of a protein in a body cell.

A frameshift mutation of two bases near the beginning of the protein in a body cell.
A frameshift mutation of two bases near the beginning of the protein in a body cell.

A frameshift mutation of two bases near the beginning of the protein in a gamete.
A frameshift mutation of two bases near the beginning of the protein in a gamete.

Answer 1

A frameshift mutation of two bases near the beginning of the protein in a gamete.

Reason: a frameshift early in coding sequence usually disrupts the entire protein (major functional effect), and because it occurs in a gamete (germline) it can be passed to offspring. The other choices are either unlikely to change function (silent; nonsense at the last amino acid) or occur in a somatic cell and thus are not heritable.