Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 25, 2025

Real-Time Quantification of the Effects of IS200/IS605 Family-Associated TnpB on Transposon Activity
Published on: January 20, 2023
Transposable elements shape the evolution of mammalian development
Anna D Senft1, Todd S Macfarlan2
1The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, The National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA. anna.senft@nih.gov.
Abstract:
Transposable elements (TEs) promote genetic innovation but also threaten genome stability. Despite multiple layers of host defence, TEs actively shape mammalian-specific developmental processes, particularly during pre-implantation and extra-embryonic development and at the maternal-fetal interface. Here, we review how TEs influence mammalian genomes both directly by providing the raw material for genetic change and indirectly via co-evolving TE-binding Krüppel-associated box zinc finger proteins (KRAB-ZFPs). Throughout mammalian evolution, individual activities of ancient TEs were co-opted to enable invasive placentation that characterizes live-born mammals. By contrast, the widespread activity of evolutionarily young TEs may reflect an ongoing co-evolution that continues to impact mammalian development.
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
06:58Loss-of-Function Approach in the Embryonic Chick Retina by Using Tol2 Transposon-Mediated Transgenic Expression of Artificial microRNAs
Published on: May 18, 2022
Related Concept Videos
Overview of Transposition and Recombination
DNA-only Transposons
The donor site from where the transposon is excised is either degraded or...
Transposons
Non-LTR Retrotransposons
LTR Retrotransposons
The internal coding region of LTR retrotransposons and their mechanism of transposition closely resembles a...
Exon Recombination
Exon shuffling follows “splice frame rules.” Each exon...