Which type of mutation replaces one amino acid with another in a protein sequence?

A missense mutation occurs when a single nucleotide change results in the substitution of one amino acid for another in a protein sequence. This type of mutation can have varying effects on the protein, ranging from negligible to significant, depending on the nature of the amino acid change and its location within the protein structure.

In contrast, a nonsense mutation introduces a premature stop codon, leading to a truncated protein, which often has a loss of function. A silent mutation, while also a change in the DNA sequence, does not alter the amino acid sequence of the protein, meaning the resulting protein remains unchanged. A frameshift mutation, on the other hand, results from insertion or deletion of nucleotides that shifts the reading frame, typically altering all subsequent amino acids and potentially leading to a nonfunctional protein.

By specifically replacing one amino acid with another, a missense mutation can alter the protein's properties, thus having more potential biochemical consequences than silent or nonsense mutations.