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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
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Posted by Neal on June 6, 2009, at 1:04:00
In the dopamine receptor D2 gene, which encodes a cell-surface receptor that detects the presence of the neurotransmitter dopamine, one silent mutation causes the mRNA to be degraded more rapidly than normal. As a result, less of the encoded protein is made, leading to cognitive disorders.
Conversely, in the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene, a silent mutation increases the extent of mRNA folding, possibly creating too much structure that may be hard to unpack before translation - lowering protein synthesis.
Andrea Nackley and colleagues at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found that this mutation affects pain tolerance.
-from Scientific American, June 2009, page 5I.
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