What is the genetic change caused by insertion or deletion not in multiples of three bases?

The correct answer is a frameshift mutation, which occurs when there is an insertion or deletion of nucleotide bases that is not in multiples of three. This type of genetic change disrupts the reading frame of the codons in mRNA, potentially altering the entire downstream sequence of amino acids during translation. Since codons consist of three nucleotides, adding or removing a number of nucleotides that is not a multiple of three shifts the grouping of the codons, hence the term "frameshift."

This can lead to significant changes in the resulting protein, such as premature stop codons or elongated protein chains, depending on where the mutation occurs in the DNA sequence. Such mutations have a dramatic impact on the phenotype of the organism, making frameshift mutations particularly severe in terms of genetic consequences.

Other types of mutations mentioned do not fit this description. A deletion mutation specifically refers to the loss of nucleotide sequences, but it doesn't specify whether it alters the reading frame if it is a multiple of three. Substitution mutations involve replacing one nucleotide with another without altering the length of the DNA strand or its reading frame. Translocation mutations involve segments of DNA being moved to different places in the genome and do not pertain directly to how the reading frame is impacted