In which type of mutation does a segment of DNA get deleted?

A deletion mutation occurs when a segment of DNA is removed or lost from the genetic material. This can lead to a frameshift in the reading frame during protein synthesis if the deletion is not in multiples of three nucleotides, potentially resulting in a completely different and nonfunctional protein.

In the context of genetics, deletions can affect gene function by removing crucial regulatory elements or coding regions, which can have various phenotypic consequences. The impacts of deletion mutations can vary in severity, depending on the size of the deleted segment and its role in gene expression or protein function.

Other types of mutations serve different functions: insertions add additional nucleotides into the DNA sequence, translocations involve the rearrangement of parts between non-homologous chromosomes, and substitutions are changes of one nucleotide to another. Each of these types of mutations has distinct implications for the structure and function of genes, but none involve the direct removal of DNA segments like deletion does.