A DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) sequence (segment of molecule) able to replicate and insert one copy (of itself) at a new location in the genome (i.e., a transposition of location). Discovered in 1950 by geneticist Barbara McClintock in corn (maize) plants (Zea mays L.); and in bacteria a decade later by Joshua Lederberg. Transposons can either carry genes along one organism’s genome, or even into another organism’s genome (e.g., via sexual conjugation, in bacteria). By such sexual conjugation, transposons can carry genes that confer new phenotypic properties (e.g., resistance to certain antibiotics, for a given bacterial cell).
A relatively small deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) segment which has the ability to move from one location to another in a chromosome.
A genetic unit such as a DNA sequence that is transferred from one cell’s genetic material to another.