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DNA-only Transposons

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DNA-only transposons are called autonomous transposons since they code for the enzyme transposase that is required for the transposition mechanism. Insertion of transposons can alter gene functions in multiple ways. They can mutate the gene, alter gene expression by introducing a novel promoter or insulator sequence, introduce new splice sites, and change the mRNA transcripts produced, or remodel chromatin structure.
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Transposons

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Transposons, or "jumping genes," are small mobile genetic elements (MGEs) that range from 700 to 40,000 base pairs in length. They are found in all organisms and can move within the same chromosome or transfer to different chromosomes. In some cases, transposons can also jump between different host DNA molecules, such as plasmids or viruses, contributing to genetic variability.Barbara McClintock first discovered these mobile genetic elements in the 1940s while studying maize genetics, and she...

Overview of Transposition and Recombination

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Transposons make up a significant part of genomes of various organisms. Therefore, it is believed that transposition played a major evolutionary role in speciation by changing genome sizes and modifying gene expression patterns. For example, in bacteria, transposition can lead to conferring antibiotic resistance. Movement of transposable elements within the genetic pool of pathogenic bacteria can aid in transfer of antibiotic-resistant genetic elements. In eukaryotes, transposons can carry out...

LTR Retrotransposons

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LTR retrotransposons are class I transposable elements with long terminal repeats flanking an internal coding region. These elements are less abundant in mammals compared to other class I transposable elements. About 8 percent of human genomic DNA comprises LTR retrotransposons. Some of the common examples of LTR retrotransposons are Ty elements in yeast and Copia elements in Drosophila.
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piRNA - Piwi-interacting RNAs

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 22, 2026

Transposon-insertion Sequencing as a Tool to Elucidate Bacterial Colonization Factors in a Burkholderia gladioli Symbiont of Lagria villosa Beetles

Transposon-insertion Sequencing as a Tool to Elucidate Bacterial Colonization Factors in a Burkholderia gladioli Symbiont of Lagria villosa Beetles

Published on: August 12, 2021

Transposon proliferation in an asexual parasitoid.

Ken Kraaijeveld¹, Brechtje Zwanenburg, Benjamin Hubert

¹Department of Human Genetics, Leiden University Medical Center S4-P, PO Box 9600, 2300 RC Leiden, The Netherlands. ken@kenkraaijeveld.nl

Molecular Ecology

|May 3, 2012

Summary

Asexual reproduction in wasps doesn't always lead to higher transposable element (TE) loads. Specific gypsy-like elements expanded in asexual lineages, potentially due to Wolbachia manipulation, not a general lack of selection.

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Generating Transgenics and Knockouts in Strongyloides Species by Microinjection

Generating Transgenics and Knockouts in Strongyloides Species by Microinjection

Published on: October 7, 2021

Area of Science:

Evolutionary Biology
Genetics
Genomics

Background:

The persistence of sexual reproduction is a long-standing puzzle in evolutionary biology.
Theory suggests asexual lineages face extinction due to accumulating transposable elements (TEs) without sex and recombination.
Purifying selection is less efficient in asexuals, potentially allowing TE proliferation.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the genome-wide transposable element (TE) load in sexual versus asexual lineages of the parasitoid wasp Leptopilina clavipes.
To test the prediction that asexual lineages accumulate higher overall TE loads compared to sexual lineages.

Main Methods:

Comparative genomics using next-generation sequencing to obtain draft genomes of sexual and asexual L. clavipes lineages.
Identification and quantification of TE abundance (DNA transposons, LTR, LINE-like elements) using genome coverage depth.
Quantitative PCR (qPCR) to validate TE copy number variations in multiple asexual and sexual lineages.

Main Results:

Both sexual and asexual lineages harbored multiple classes of transposons.
Asexual lineages showed higher copy numbers for DNA transposons, but not LTR and LINE-like elements, contrary to general predictions.
A specific gypsy-like LTR element showed a fourfold increase in copy number in the asexual lineage.
High loads of this gypsy-like TE were consistently found across 11 distinct asexual wasp lineages.

Conclusions:

The study did not find evidence for an overall increase in all TE types in asexual wasps as predicted by theory.
Expansion of specific TEs, like the gypsy-like element, in asexual lineages may be a side effect of Wolbachia-induced (epi)genetic manipulation.
Asexuality can lead to TE proliferation, but the mechanisms may be more complex and varied than previously assumed, potentially involving host-microbe interactions.