Transposable element

"Mobile DNA" redirects here. For the academic journal, see Mobile DNA (journal).

A transposable element (TE), also transposon, jumping gene, or mobile genetic element, is a DNA sequence that can change its position, or translocate, within a genome. TEs were first identified via genetic studies in maize by Barbara McClintock, a discovery for which she was awarded the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

TEs are very common in all types of organisms in nature, including in plants and animals. As of 2008, there were at least two classes of TEs: Class I TEs or retrotransposons, which generally function via reverse transcription; and Class II TEs or DNA transposons, which encode the protein transposase (and sometimes other proteins), which they require for insertion, excision, or other TE functions.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.