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Related Concept Videos

Overview of Transposition and Recombination02:13

Overview of Transposition and Recombination

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...
DNA-only Transposons02:57

DNA-only Transposons

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.
The donor site from where the transposon is excised is either degraded or...
Transposons01:24

Transposons

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...
LTR Retrotransposons03:08

LTR Retrotransposons

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.
The internal coding region of LTR retrotransposons and their mechanism of transposition closely resembles a...
Types of Genetic Transfer Between Organisms02:18

Types of Genetic Transfer Between Organisms

Genetic transfer occurs when genetic information is passed from one organism to another. It occurs via two mechanisms: vertical gene transfer and horizontal gene transfer. Vertical gene transfer occurs when genetic information is transferred from one generation to the next, which happens much more frequently than horizontal gene transfer. Both sexual and asexual reproduction are forms of vertical gene transfer, where one or more organisms pass some or all of their genome onto their progeny.
Types of Genetic Transfer Between Organisms02:18

Types of Genetic Transfer Between Organisms

Genetic transfer occurs when genetic information is passed from one organism to another. It occurs via two mechanisms: vertical gene transfer and horizontal gene transfer. Vertical gene transfer occurs when genetic information is transferred from one generation to the next, which happens much more frequently than horizontal gene transfer. Both sexual and asexual reproduction are forms of vertical gene transfer, where one or more organisms pass some or all of their genome onto their progeny.

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 14, 2026

Real-Time Quantification of the Effects of IS200/IS605 Family-Associated TnpB on Transposon Activity
04:04

Real-Time Quantification of the Effects of IS200/IS605 Family-Associated TnpB on Transposon Activity

Published on: January 20, 2023

Distinguishing ecological from evolutionary approaches to transposable elements.

Stefan Linquist1, Brent Saylor, Karl Cottenie

  • 1Department of Philosophy, College of Arts, University of Guelph, Guelph, N1G 2W1, Canada. linquist@uoguelph.ca

Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society
|January 26, 2013
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Transposon ecology offers new insights into genome dynamics. Ecological factors explain TE abundance and distribution in closely related species, suggesting TEs can model general ecological hypotheses.

Keywords:
ecologyevolutionmultivariate analysisphilosophy of sciencetransposable elements

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Determination of the Optimal Chromosomal Location(s) for a DNA Element in Escherichia coli Using a Novel Transposon-mediated Approach
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Determination of the Optimal Chromosomal Location(s) for a DNA Element in Escherichia coli Using a Novel Transposon-mediated Approach

Published on: September 11, 2017

Area of Science:

  • Genomics
  • Ecology
  • Evolutionary Biology

Background:

  • Transposable elements (TEs) show significant variation in genomes across species.
  • An ecological approach to transposon dynamics is proposed, but its contribution beyond co-evolutionary frameworks is unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To clarify the conceptual foundations of transposon ecology.
  • To evaluate the explanatory potential of ecological versus evolutionary approaches to TE abundance and distribution.

Main Methods:

  • Distinguished between evolutionary and ecological approaches to TE dynamics.
  • Analyzed whole-genome data from mammals and arthropods to quantify variance explained by ecological and evolutionary factors.
  • Assessed explanatory power at different levels of TE and host genome relatedness.

Main Results:

  • Ecological factors explained most variation in TE abundance and distribution among TE lineages in closely related hosts.
  • Evolutionary factors were not significant at the TE lineage level.
  • Explanatory roles inverted for TE families or distantly related genomes.

Conclusions:

  • Ecological factors are crucial for understanding TE lineage dynamics over shorter evolutionary timescales.
  • Transposon ecology provides a distinct and valuable perspective on genome variation.
  • TEs may serve as model systems for broader ecological research.