frameshift

[ freym-shift ]

noun

, Genetics.

1. the addition or deletion of one or more nucleotides in a strand of DNA, which shifts the codon triplets of the genetic code of messenger RNA and causes a misreading during translation, resulting in an aberrant protein and therefore a mutation.

frameshift

/ frām′shĭft′ /

1. Relating to a mutation that occurs when one or two nucleotides are added or deleted, with the result that every codon beyond the point of insertion or deletion is read incorrectly during translation.
2. See more at point mutation

Word History and Origins

Origin of frameshift¹

frame + shift

Example Sentences

It aimed to develop off-the-shelf personalized cancer vaccines based on so-called frameshift mutations.

From Science Magazine

They designed mRNAs that would prompt cells in a dish to produce a fluorescent protein only if a ribosome “slips” and starts to read the three-letter codons incorrectly, a mistake known as a frameshift.

From Science Magazine

The ribosome occasionally skips forward by a letter or place, called a frameshift, to read: "The cat a tet hef atr."

From BBC

It happened to have a type of mutation, known as a frameshift mutation, that was rare in coronavirus samples.

From Seattle Times

Postdoc Benoit Rousseau and others in the Diaz lab tested temozolomide and another chemotherapy drug, cisplatin, on cancer cells and found the combination produced 1000 times more frameshift mutations than either drug alone.

From Science Magazine