What type of mutation is characterized by a change in the base pair that creates a stop codon?

A nonsense mutation is characterized by a change in a base pair that results in the formation of a stop codon, which prematurely terminates the translation process during protein synthesis. This type of mutation can significantly impact the resulting protein's function since it truncates the protein, often leading to a nonfunctional or incomplete product. Nonsense mutations arise when a single nucleotide is altered in such a way that a codon that normally codes for an amino acid is converted into a stop codon, which signals the end of translation.

This differs from missense mutations, which result in a single amino acid change within a protein; silent mutations that do not change the amino acid sequence, and frameshift mutations, which involve the insertion or deletion of nucleotides that alter the reading frame of the genetic code. Nonsense mutations are particularly impactful because they can lead to diseases or dysfunctions due to the loss of essential proteins.