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Transposition (movement of DNA segments within and between DNA molecules)

Definition

Transposition is a biological process where a segment of DNA is moved from one location to another, either within the same molecule or to a different molecule. This can lead to genetic variation.

Analogy

Think of transposition like cutting and pasting text in a word document. You can cut a sentence from one paragraph and paste it into another, changing the meaning of both paragraphs. Similarly, when a piece of DNA moves from one place to another, it changes the genetic information in both locations.

Related terms

Transposon: A transposon is the specific segment of DNA that moves during transposition. It's like the sentence you're moving in your word document.

Jumping Gene: This is another name for a transposon because it 'jumps' from one location in the genome to another.

Insertion Sequence: An insertion sequence is the simplest type of transposon which only contains genes involved in transposition. It's like having just enough text for your cut-and-paste operation.