Mobile genetic elements facts for kids
Mobile genetic elements (MGE) are a type of DNA that can move around within the genome. They include:
- Transposons (also called transposable elements)
- Retrotransposons
- DNA transposons
- Integrons
- Insertion sequences
- Plasmids
- Bacteriophage elements, like Mu which integrates randomly into the genome
- Group II introns
The total of all mobile genetic elements in a genome may be referred to as the mobilome.
Barbara McClintock was awarded the 1983 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for her discovery of mobile genetic elements".
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Mobile genetic elements Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.