transposon

trans·po·son  (trns-pzn)

n.

A segment of DNA that is capable of independently replicating itself and inserting the copy into a new position within the same or another chromosome or plasmid.

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[transpos(ition) + -on¹.]

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transposon  (trns-pzn)

A segment of DNA that is capable of independently replicating itself and inserting the copy into a new position within the same or another chromosome or plasmid. Transposons act somewhat similarly to viruses and in humans are an underlying cause of hemophilia, certain cancers, and other diseases. In other organisms, they can become a permanent and even beneficial part of the genome, as in maize corn, where transposons account for half the genome, and certain bacteria, where genes for antibiotic resistance can spread by means of transposons. Also called jumping gene.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

transposon - a segment of DNA that can become integrated at many different sites along a chromosome (especially a segment of bacterial DNA that can be translocated as a whole) jumping gene deoxyribonucleic acid, desoxyribonucleic acid, DNA - (biochemistry) a long linear polymer found in the nucleus of a cell and formed from nucleotides and shaped like a double helix; associated with the transmission of genetic information; "DNA is the king of molecules"