Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Overview of Transposition and Recombination

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 Transposons

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...

Transposons

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...

Non-LTR Retrotransposons

Non-LTR Retrotransposons

As the name suggests, non-LTR retrotransposons lack the long terminal repeats characteristic of the LTR retrotransposons. Additionally, both LTR and non-LTR retrotransposons use distinct mechanisms of mobilization. Non-LTR retrotransposons are further divided into two classes - Long interspersed nuclear elements (LINEs) and short interspersed nuclear elements (SINEs), both of which occur abundantly in most mammals, including humans. Some of the active non-LTR retrotransposons in humans are L1...

LTR Retrotransposons

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...

Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons

Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons

Genome comparison is one of the excellent ways to interpret the evolutionary relationships between organisms. The basic principle of genome comparison is that if two species share a common feature, it is likely encoded by the DNA sequence conserved between both species. The advent of genome sequencing technologies in the late 20th century enabled scientists to understand the concept of conservation of domains between species and helped them to deduce evolutionary relationships across diverse...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Multiscale analysis and functional validation of the cellular and genetic determinants of skeletal disease.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026

Same author

Genomic variation in symptom expression in castrate-resistant prostate cancer.

BMJ supportive & palliative care·2025

Same author

Human alveolar macrophage function is impaired in tuberculosis contacts with diabetes.

EBioMedicine·2025

Same author

An allele-resolved nanopore-guided tour of the human placental methylome.

Nature communications·2025

Same author

HUMAN ALVEOLAR MACROPHAGE FUNCTION IS IMPAIRED IN TUBERCULOSIS CONTACTS WITH DIABETES.

Research square·2024

Same author

Molecular genetic analysis of candidate genes for glutaric aciduria type II in a cohort of patients from Queensland, Australia.

Molecular genetics and metabolism·2024

Same journal

Unifying Repbase and Dfam: a new open foundation for transposable element research.

Mobile DNA·2026

Same journal

Dynamic transposable element expression during Hydra head regeneration.

Mobile DNA·2026

Same journal

Glomhopper-a subfamily of DUF3504-encoding CryptonA elements in Glomeromycota.

Mobile DNA·2026

Same journal

Stones in genomic storms: transposable element-driven variation in Prunus fruit trees.

Mobile DNA·2026

Same journal

Transposable elements in hematopoietic stem cells upon aging and myeloid malignancies.

Mobile DNA·2026

Same journal

Howler monkey Platy-1 and Alu SINEs: a resource for Alouatta genomics.

Mobile DNA·2026

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 28, 2026

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

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

Published on: January 20, 2023

Transposable element detection from whole genome sequence data.

¹Mater Research Institute - University of Queensland, 37 Kent St Level 4, Woolloongabba, QLD 4102 Australia.

|January 1, 2016

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

New software tools for detecting transposable element insertions are emerging rapidly. However, current methods lack concordance, highlighting the need for improved computational approaches in whole genome sequencing analysis.

Keywords:

Bioinformatics Methods Sequencing

More Related Videos

Determination of the Optimal Chromosomal Locations for a DNA Element in Escherichia coli Using a Novel Transposon-mediated Approach

Determination of the Optimal Chromosomal Locations for a DNA Element in Escherichia coli Using a Novel Transposon-mediated Approach

Published on: September 11, 2017

Identification of Functionally-Relevant Lentivirus Integration Sites in an Insertional Mutagenesis Cell Library

Identification of Functionally-Relevant Lentivirus Integration Sites in an Insertional Mutagenesis Cell Library

Published on: January 10, 2025

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Mar 28, 2026

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

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

Published on: January 20, 2023

Determination of the Optimal Chromosomal Locations for a DNA Element in Escherichia coli Using a Novel Transposon-mediated Approach

Determination of the Optimal Chromosomal Locations for a DNA Element in Escherichia coli Using a Novel Transposon-mediated Approach

Published on: September 11, 2017

Identification of Functionally-Relevant Lentivirus Integration Sites in an Insertional Mutagenesis Cell Library

Identification of Functionally-Relevant Lentivirus Integration Sites in an Insertional Mutagenesis Cell Library

Published on: January 10, 2025

Area of Science:

Genomics
Bioinformatics
Computational Biology

Background:

The increasing availability of whole genome sequencing data has led to a surge in software tools for transposable element (TE) detection.
Existing TE detection methods employ various computational strategies, often based on common underlying approaches.

Purpose of the Study:

To review current transposable element detection and filtering strategies in the context of TE biology and whole genome sequencing.
To assess the concordance of state-of-the-art TE detection methods.
To provide resources for advancing future TE detection tool development.

Main Methods:

Review of existing computational approaches for transposable element insertion detection.
Analysis of detection and filtering strategies based on transposable element biology.
Evaluation of current whole genome sequencing technologies and their impact on TE detection.

Main Results:

A wide array of software tools for transposable element detection exists, with diverse methodologies.
Current state-of-the-art transposable element detection tools exhibit limited concordance in their results.
Significant challenges remain in accurately identifying transposable element insertions across different datasets.

Conclusions:

The field of transposable element detection requires further methodological refinement to improve accuracy and consistency.
Future development should focus on enhancing concordance among different detection algorithms.
Resources and insights are provided to guide the next generation of transposable element detection software.