Transposable Elements

Transposable Elements

Transposable Elements - Transposable elements are segments of DNA which can insert into several sites in a genome. They have been found inserted in the genomes of both prokaryote and eukaryote cells. They can move from one position to other nonhomologous regions. Transposable elements influence the activity of genes near the sites of insertion and can also cause chromosomal aberrations. The three classes of transposable elements are IS elements, Tn elements (transposons) and episomes.

The term transposable elements has also been applied to the temperate phages Mu and lamda, which resemble IS elements and transposons in their capacity to be inserted and excised from bacterial genes. The lambda phage can also exist in the free phase, while the IS and Tn elements have been found only in the inserted state. The phage Mu appears to insert at random, while the lambda phage usually inserts at a single site.

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