A genetic mutation can change the primary structure of a protein. How can this destroy the protein’s function?

Answer 1

Primary structure, the amino acid sequence, affects the secondary structure, which affects the tertiary structure, which affects the quaternary structure (if any). In short, the amino acid sequence affects the shape of the protein, and the function of a protein depends on its shape.

Answer 2

Humm... The shape of the protein may change due to the change in the nucleotides, but some mutations are so small, for example one change in a nucleotide, that it doesn't affect the overall complexity of the molecule. Most of the time mutations cause a "mis-read" (or what they call missense mutation) in the protein and this affects the ability of the protein to function properly. There are a few different types of genetic mutations and they all affect the primary structure of protein differently...

I'm not sure tho,...

Answer 3

A single point mutation may change only amino acid, which may or may not cause any significant change in the shape of the protein. A change in amino acid at the active site of an enzyme can cause big change of enzyme activity.

If a deletion mutation occurs, the whole DNA sequence is shifted one space, and all the following codes are all wrong. It will end up with a protein quite different.

Answer 4

When proteins fold, amino acids that may or may not be far apart from each other in the primary sequence of a protein interact with each other. For instance, a positively charged Arginine amino acid may interact with a negatively charged glutamate amino acid when the protein is folded into its native conformational state, and this interaction contributes to why this is the native conformational state of the protein. If the positively charged arginine is mutated to a nonpolar, neutral amino acid such as alanine or leucine, the interaction with the negatively charged glutamate might not be strong enough to hold the protein in its native state. When the protein doesn't fold into its native state, it might not be able to carry out its specific cellular function.