Neha Patil (Editor)

DNA transposon

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DNA transposons are a group of transposable elements (TEs) that can move in the DNA of an organism via a single- or double-stranded DNA intermediate.

Contents

There are autonomous, as well as nonautonomous DNA transposons. The former use the enzymatic machinery of the latter for their amplification in a genome. It is estimated, that there are around 300,000 copies of DNA transposon fossils in the human genome and they make up around 3  % of it.

Examples of DNA Transposons

There are nine superfamilies of DNA Transposons defined. The following is a list of these superfamilies, with some group members:

  • Tc1-mariner
  • Tigger
  • hAT (name is derived from hobo transposon of Drosophila melanogaster)
  • Charlie
  • Mutator
  • Merlin
  • Transib
  • P
  • piggyBac (first discovered in Trichoplusia ni)
  • PIF/Harbinger
  • CACTA

    • Activity

    Today, there are no active DNA Transposons in the human genome anymore. Therefore, the elements found in the human genome are called "fossils".

    References

    DNA transposon Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA