Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 11, 2026

Identification of Sleeping Beauty Transposon Insertions in Solid Tumors using Linker-mediated PCR
Published on: February 1, 2013
The Sleeping Beauty transposable element: evolution, regulation and genetic applications
Zoltán Ivics1, Christopher D Kaufman, Hatem Zayed
1Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, Robert Rössle Str. 10, D-13092, Berlin, Germany. zivics@mdc-berlin.de
The Sleeping Beauty (SB) transposon, a reconstructed fish element, enables DNA transposition in vertebrates. This discovery provides a powerful tool for genetic manipulation in research and potentially human therapeutics.
Area of Science:
- Molecular Biology
- Genetics
- Genomics
Background:
- Vertebrate Tc1/mariner transposons are typically inactive due to mutations.
- The Sleeping Beauty (SB) transposon was reconstructed from ancient fish DNA, showing potential for activity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To reconstruct and characterize the Sleeping Beauty (SB) transposon.
- To explore SB's potential as a tool for genetic manipulation in vertebrates.
Main Methods:
- Reconstruction of the SB element from fish DNA sequences.
- Analysis of SB transposition regulation, including transposase binding sites and host factors.
- Testing SB transposition efficiency in various vertebrate cell types and organisms in vitro and in vivo.
Main Results:
- SB was successfully reconstructed and demonstrated to be an active DNA transposon.
- SB transposition is regulated by multiple factors, including transposase binding affinity and host DNA repair proteins.
- SB catalyzes efficient cut-and-paste transposition in diverse vertebrate cells and in vivo (mouse, zebrafish).
Conclusions:
- The reconstructed Sleeping Beauty (SB) transposon is an active DNA transposon in vertebrates.
- SB transposition mechanisms share links with cellular DNA repair pathways.
- SB serves as a valuable vector for transgenesis and insertional mutagenesis in vertebrate systems.
More Related Videos
10:58Transposon Mediated Integration of Plasmid DNA into the Subventricular Zone of Neonatal Mice to Generate Novel Models of Glioblastoma
Published on: February 22, 2015
10:13An Efficient In Vitro Transposition Method by a Transcriptionally Regulated Sleeping Beauty System Packaged into an Integration Defective Lentiviral Vector
Published on: January 12, 2018
Related Concept Videos
Overview of Transposition and Recombination
DNA-only Transposons
The donor site from where the transposon is excised is either degraded or...
Cis-regulatory Sequences
piRNA - Piwi-interacting RNAs
Cis-regulatory Sequences
Transposons