Transposons are sequences of
DNA that can move around to different positions within the
genome of a single
cell, a process called transposition. In the process, they can cause
mutations and change the amount of DNA in the genome. Transposons are also called "jumping genes", and are examples of
mobile genetic elements. Discovered by
Barbara McClintock early in her career, the topic went on to be a
Nobel prize winning work in
1983. There are a variety of mobile genetic elements, and they can be grouped based on their mechanism of transposition. Class I mobile genetic elements, or
retrotransposons, move in the genome by being
transcribed to
RNA and then back to DNA by
reverse transcriptase, while class II mobile genetic elements move directly from one position to another within the genome using a
transposase to "cut and paste" them within the genome. Transposons are very useful to researchers as a means to alter DNA inside of a living organism. Transposons make up a large fraction of
genome sizes which is evident through the
C-values of
eukaryotic species.
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A long mobile DNA element that moves in the genome by a mechanism involving DNA synthesis and transposition.
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