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

18.8K
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...
18.8K
DNA-only Transposons02:57

DNA-only Transposons

17.1K
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...
17.1K
Transposons01:24

Transposons

1.3K
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...
1.3K
LTR Retrotransposons03:08

LTR Retrotransposons

19.4K
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...
19.4K
Cis-regulatory Sequences02:02

Cis-regulatory Sequences

11.6K
Cis-regulatory sequences are short fragments of non-coding DNA that are present on the same chromosomes as the genes that they regulate. These fragments serve as binding sites for transcriptional regulators, proteins that are responsible for controlling gene transcription and differential gene expression across cell types in eukaryotes. Cis-regulatory sequences can be close to the gene of interest or thousands of bases away in the DNA sequence; however, those sequences that are further away are...
11.6K
Types of Genetic Transfer Between Organisms02:18

Types of Genetic Transfer Between Organisms

30.5K
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.
30.5K

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

[Biocompatibility of silk fibroin nanofibers scaffold with olfactory ensheathing cells].

Zhongguo xiu fu chong jian wai ke za zhi = Zhongguo xiufu chongjian waike zazhi = Chinese journal of reparative and reconstructive surgery·2009
Same author

[Association of tryptophan hydroxylase gene A218C and serotonin transporter gene polymorphism with essential hypertension in Chinese northern Han population].

Zhonghua xin xue guan bing za zhi·2009
Same author

An FES cycling control system based on CPG.

Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. Annual International Conference·2009
Same author

One example on how colloidal nano- and microparticles could contribute to medicine.

Nanomedicine (London, England)·2009
Same author

[Mutational analysis of Meq, RLORF4, RLORF12 and 132bpr genes of epidemic Marek's disease virus strains highly passaged on chicken embryo fibroblast].

Bing du xue bao = Chinese journal of virology·2009
Same author

Dietary fish oil n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and alpha-linolenic acid differently affect brain accretion of docosahexaenoic acid and expression of desaturases and sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1 in mice.

The Journal of nutritional biochemistry·2009
Same journal

Pangenome analysis of Nocardia brasiliensis reveals phylogenetic divergence, high genomic diversity and widespread distribution of biosynthetic gene clusters involved in secondary metabolite biosynthesis.

Molecular phylogenetics and evolution·2026
Same journal

Adaptive introgression facilitates tropical plant evolution: Pandanus as a case study.

Molecular phylogenetics and evolution·2026
Same journal

Molecular phylogenetics of Andean killifish genus Orestias (Cyprinodontiformes: Orestiidae) with emphasis on the O. agassii species complex, a widespread Andean clade.

Molecular phylogenetics and evolution·2026
Same journal

Resolving fuzzy species limits: nuclear evidence for speciation by hybridisation in Amazonian Trichomanes ferns.

Molecular phylogenetics and evolution·2026
Same journal

Phylogenomic assessment of microhylid frogs reveals widespread taxonomic confusion in the Asterophryinae and establishes the timing of diversification in Australia.

Molecular phylogenetics and evolution·2026
Same journal

Phylogenomics, introgression, and demographic history of extant flamingos (Aves: Phoenicopteridae).

Molecular phylogenetics and evolution·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 12, 2026

Site-Directed φC31-Mediated Integration and Cassette Exchange in Anopheles Vectors of Malaria
09:38

Site-Directed φC31-Mediated Integration and Cassette Exchange in Anopheles Vectors of Malaria

Published on: February 2, 2021

4.5K

Harnessing transposable elements: A new frontier in insect systematics.

Shiyu Du1, Feng Zhang1

  • 1Department of Entomology, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 211800, China; State Key Laboratory of Agricultural and Forestry Biosecurity, College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 211800, China.

Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution
|October 30, 2025
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Transposable elements (TEs) in insect genomes can help identify species, especially when analyzing their presence and copy numbers. TEs are more useful for species delimitation than for higher-level insect phylogeny.

Keywords:
GenomesInsectsPhylogeneticsTransposable elementsrepetitive DNA

More Related Videos

Microinjection of Western Corn Rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera, Embryos for Germline Transformation, or CRISPR/Cas9 Genome Editing
07:42

Microinjection of Western Corn Rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera, Embryos for Germline Transformation, or CRISPR/Cas9 Genome Editing

Published on: April 27, 2018

7.8K
Delivery of Nucleic Acids through Embryo Microinjection in the Worldwide Agricultural Pest Insect, Ceratitis capitata
09:45

Delivery of Nucleic Acids through Embryo Microinjection in the Worldwide Agricultural Pest Insect, Ceratitis capitata

Published on: October 1, 2016

9.4K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jan 12, 2026

Site-Directed φC31-Mediated Integration and Cassette Exchange in Anopheles Vectors of Malaria
09:38

Site-Directed φC31-Mediated Integration and Cassette Exchange in Anopheles Vectors of Malaria

Published on: February 2, 2021

4.5K
Microinjection of Western Corn Rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera, Embryos for Germline Transformation, or CRISPR/Cas9 Genome Editing
07:42

Microinjection of Western Corn Rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera, Embryos for Germline Transformation, or CRISPR/Cas9 Genome Editing

Published on: April 27, 2018

7.8K
Delivery of Nucleic Acids through Embryo Microinjection in the Worldwide Agricultural Pest Insect, Ceratitis capitata
09:45

Delivery of Nucleic Acids through Embryo Microinjection in the Worldwide Agricultural Pest Insect, Ceratitis capitata

Published on: October 1, 2016

9.4K

Area of Science:

  • Genomics
  • Bioinformatics
  • Evolutionary Biology

Background:

  • Insect genomes contain a large proportion of non-coding repetitive sequences, known as transposable elements (TEs).
  • Advancements in sequencing technology enable large-scale exploration of insect genomes and the potential of TEs in systematics.
  • TEs exhibit differentiation across taxonomic levels, suggesting their utility as phylogenetic markers.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the potential of transposable elements (TEs) as phylogenetic markers for insect phylogeny.
  • To assess the effectiveness of TEs in species-level analyses within the Drosophiloidea superfamily.
  • To explore genome-wide TE features for applications in insect systematics and taxonomy.

Main Methods:

  • Identified 2,390 species-specific TE families across 128 Drosophiloidea species genomes.
  • Quantified TE copy numbers and constructed phylogenetic trees using presence/absence data (0/1 coding) via Maximum Parsimony, Maximum Likelihood, and Bayesian Inference.
  • Performed clustering analysis on normalized TE copy numbers and evaluated phylogenetic signal strength (RI values).

Main Results:

  • TE-based phylogenies showed topological incongruences with recognized phylogenies, particularly at higher taxonomic levels (51-55.8% node consistency).
  • At lower taxonomic levels (infrageneric), TEs recovered monophyly in 54.5-68.2% of nodes.
  • Clustering analysis effectively distinguished closely related species, and TEs with higher RI values (>0.5) improved phylogenetic accuracy (NRFD 0.379-0.408).

Conclusions:

  • Transposable elements demonstrate greater utility in lower taxonomic levels, particularly for species delimitation.
  • TEs can effectively distinguish closely related insect species, offering a valuable tool for insect systematics.
  • No significant difference in TE performance was observed between next-generation and third-generation sequencing platforms.