Which type of mutation does not alter the resulting amino acid sequence?

A silent mutation is a specific type of genetic alteration that does not change the amino acid sequence of the protein produced. This happens because the mutation occurs in the DNA sequence but still results in the same codon due to the redundancy of the genetic code. In the genetic code, multiple codons can encode for the same amino acid, which allows for some mutations to be 'silent' in terms of their effect on the protein.

For example, if a DNA sequence undergoes a change from GGT to GGC, both codons still code for glycine, meaning that the resulting protein remains unchanged despite the mutation at the DNA level. This is significant in molecular diagnostics and genetics, as such silent mutations can sometimes be overlooked in analyses because they do not affect the phenotype or function of the organism in the way that other types of mutations might.

In contrast, missense mutations result in a different amino acid being incorporated into the protein, potentially altering its function. Nonsense mutations lead to the introduction of a premature stop codon, resulting in truncated proteins that can be nonfunctional. Frameshift mutations, caused by insertions or deletions that shift the reading frame, typically result in a completely different amino acid sequence downstream of the mutation. Thus, silent mutations