transposon

noun

trans·​po·​son tran(t)s-ˈpō-zän 

: a transposable element especially when it contains genetic material controlling functions other than those related to its relocation

Examples of transposon in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In her analysis, Phan opted not to discard the activity of transposons—a standard step in many studies. —Bycatherine Offord, science.org, 24 Oct. 2024

The team behind the pregnancy finding hadn’t set out to study transposons. —Bycatherine Offord, science.org, 24 Oct. 2024

To show this was potentially useful for gene editing, the researchers blocked the production of the transposon's own RNA and fed it a replacement RNA that worked. —John Timmer, Ars Technica, 26 June 2024

Yet bacterial transposons do exist, and a team of scientists based in the US and Japan identified one with a rather unusual feature. —John Timmer, Ars Technica, 26 June 2024

Researchers believe they’re somehow partnered with transposons — maybe helping them, or perhaps hitching a ride. —Amber Dance, Discover Magazine, 2 Feb. 2024

Some of these system-wide changes removed repetitive segments of DNA or took out pieces called transposons that make genomes more prone to mutation. —IEEE Spectrum, 10 Mar. 2017

Get Quanta Magazine delivered to your inbox Introduction Previous studies of horizontal transfers have often focused on the mobile genetic elements called transposons. —Saugat Bolakhe, Quanta Magazine, 3 Aug. 2023

In 2020, their work uncovered nearly 1,000 distinct horizontal transfers involving transposons that had occurred in over 300 vertebrate genomes. —Jake Buehler, Quanta Magazine, 30 Mar. 2023

Word History

Etymology

transpose + -on entry 2

First Known Use

1974, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for transposon

• unfrozen
• cozen
• frozen

Medical Definition

transposon

noun

trans·​po·​son ˌtran(t)s-ˈpō-ˌzän 

: a transposable element especially when it contains genetic material controlling functions other than those related to its relocation