Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Overview of Transposition and Recombination02:13

Overview of Transposition and Recombination

17.1K
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...
17.1K
DNA-only Transposons02:57

DNA-only Transposons

15.2K
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...
15.2K
Horizontal Gene Transfer01:27

Horizontal Gene Transfer

590
Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is a process where genetic material moves between organisms within the same generation, unlike vertical gene transfer, which occurs from parent to offspring. HGT plays a crucial role in microbial evolution, adaptation, and survival, particularly in shared environments like the human gut.Mobile genetic elements such as plasmids, prophages, integrons, insertion sequences, and transposons facilitate this process. HGT occurs through three primary mechanisms:...
590
Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons02:54

Evolutionary Relationships through Genome Comparisons

6.5K
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...
6.5K
Transposons01:24

Transposons

440
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...
440
Gene Duplication and Divergence02:37

Gene Duplication and Divergence

7.3K
The seminal work of Ohno in 1970 popularized the idea of gene duplication and divergence. DNA sequence comparison studies reveal that a large portion of the genes in bacteria, archaebacteria, and eukaryotes was  generated by gene duplication and divergence, indicating its critical role in evolution.
The duplicated copies of the gene are called Paralogs. Paralogs with similar sequences and functions form a gene family. Across several species, a large number of gene families are...
7.3K

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Multifocal Electroretinography Outcomes Following AVD-104 Treatment for Geographic Atrophy.

Journal of vitreoretinal diseases·2026
Same author

A Spotlight on Yolk-sac Tumors: Molecular Pathology, Current Diagnostics, and Novel Therapeutics.

Andrology·2026
Same author

Adulthood depletion of Integrator extends lifespan and healthspan via defective pre-mRNA processing.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026
Same author

Real-World Experience on the Use of Eravacycline at Doses of 1 mg/kg Bodyweight and Fixed Dose Strategy in Two European Tertiary Centers.

Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland)·2026
Same author

Multimodal AI-driven analysis in breast and lung cancer: insights from the OPTIMA prototyping workshop.

BMC proceedings·2026
Same author

Pharmacological inhibition of host cell neddylation reduces intoxication of cells by diphtheria toxin and clostridial enterotoxins TcdB and C2.

Microbiology spectrum·2026

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Nov 1, 2025

Identification of Functionally-Relevant Lentivirus Integration Sites in an Insertional Mutagenesis Cell Library
07:28

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

Published on: January 10, 2025

480

Network-based visualisation reveals new insights into transposable element diversity.

Lisa Schneider1,2,3, Yi-Ke Guo3, David Birch3

  • 1MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences, London, UK.

Molecular Systems Biology
|June 25, 2021
PubMed
Summary

Network analysis reveals how transposable elements (TEs) evolve and spread across genomes. This method tracks TE sequence changes and content variation, uncovering links to gene acquisition and epigenetic silencing.

Keywords:
epigeneticsevolutionnetworkspiRNAstransposable elements

More Related Videos

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

2.5K
Retroviral Scanning: Mapping MLV Integration Sites to Define Cell-specific Regulatory Regions
10:10

Retroviral Scanning: Mapping MLV Integration Sites to Define Cell-specific Regulatory Regions

Published on: May 28, 2017

8.6K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Nov 1, 2025

Identification of Functionally-Relevant Lentivirus Integration Sites in an Insertional Mutagenesis Cell Library
07:28

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

Published on: January 10, 2025

480
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

2.5K
Retroviral Scanning: Mapping MLV Integration Sites to Define Cell-specific Regulatory Regions
10:10

Retroviral Scanning: Mapping MLV Integration Sites to Define Cell-specific Regulatory Regions

Published on: May 28, 2017

8.6K

Area of Science:

  • Genomics
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Bioinformatics

Background:

  • Transposable elements (TEs) are abundant in eukaryotic genomes, but their diversity varies significantly between species.
  • Understanding TE evolution is challenging due to rapid sequence diversification and horizontal gene transfer.
  • Factors influencing TE diversity and genome content remain largely unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop a novel network analysis method for visualizing and analyzing transposable element (TE) evolution across diverse genomes.
  • To investigate the sequence evolution of Tc1/mariner elements and their potential acquisition of host gene domains.
  • To explore the impact of epigenetic silencing mechanisms, such as Piwi-interacting RNAs, on TE content across species.

Main Methods:

  • Development of a network analysis framework to visualize TE sequence and content.
  • Application of monopartite networks to study the sequence evolution of Tc1/mariner elements.
  • Utilization of bipartite networks to analyze the relationship between epigenetic silencing and TE content across species.

Main Results:

  • Identified a connection between two Tc1/mariner subfamilies linked to the convergent acquisition of a protein-coding gene domain.
  • Demonstrated that the presence of Piwi-interacting RNAs correlates with distinct network topologies, independent of phylogenetic effects.
  • Successfully visualized complex TE dynamics and evolutionary patterns across multiple genomes.

Conclusions:

  • Network analysis provides a powerful approach to uncover previously unrecognized aspects of transposable element evolution.
  • The study highlights the role of gene domain acquisition and epigenetic regulation in shaping TE content and diversity.
  • The developed method offers new insights into the evolutionary trajectories of mobile genetic elements in eukaryotes.