Which of the following would be a possible effect of a mutation causing the addition of twenty nucleotides after the stop codon of the trp gene?

• A. The insertion of twenty nucleotides immediately after the stop codon would likely disrupt the formation of the attenuator stem-loop structure.
• B. Interfere with the ability of the RNA polymerase to read the trpL region and form the appropriate secondary structures necessary for attenuation.
• C. Insertion of twenty nucleotides could potentially alter the reading frame of the trpL region, resulting in a different amino acid sequence being translated.
• D. Formation of functionally normal protein/polypeptide with no change in the gene expression as the nucleotides are added after the stop codon.

Answer: (D)