Generally speaking, which of the following mutations would most severely affect the protein coded for by a gene? a) a base substitution at the beginning of the geneb) a base substitution at the end of the genec) a frameshift deletion at the beginning of the gened) a frameshift deletion at the end of the gene

Answer is C.

Explanation:

For A and B, a base substitution affects one of the three bases that comprise a codon, the DNA/RNA unit that corresponds to a particular amino acid. If one base is substituted, one codon and therefore one amino acid will be affected. Codons have built-in redundancy, so even by changing one base, the new codon sometimes still corresponds to the same amino acid. Therefore, a base substitution at most affects one amino acid, and sometimes doesn't affect it all.

Frameshift mutations cause a lot more trouble. These occur when you have a deletion or insertion that changes the number of bases in your gene. As a result, the "frame" of the codons changes (everything shifts one way or the other by the number of bases added/removed). This affects EVERY codon downstream of the mutation, so you can imagine that such a mutation would have a bigger effect the closer to the start of the gene it occurs. This is why C is correct.