What happens during a deletion mutation?

During a deletion mutation, part of the nucleotide sequence of DNA is removed. This alteration can affect the way genes are expressed and can lead to significant changes in the organism's traits or functions. Deletion mutations can occur in several ways, such as the loss of a single nucleotide or the removal of larger segments of DNA. This results in a shorter nucleotide sequence, which can disrupt the reading frame during translation, potentially leading to nonfunctional proteins or different protein structures. The impact of such mutations often depends on the specific genes affected and the extent of the deletion.