Too many ends: aberrant transposition.
A recent study by Zhang and colleagues published in the March 15, 2009, issue of Genes & Development (pp. 755-765) demonstrates that maize Ac/Ds transposons mediate translocations and other rearrangements through aberrant execution of the normal transposition process. Ac transposase uses one end from each of two neighboring elements in these events, which may happen more commonly than previously thought. In genomes where there can be many transposon ends scattered across all the chromosomes, such mistakes can have important consequences.
Agronomy Department, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907, USA. cweil@purdue.edu
Clifford F
CF
Weil
D000818:Animals; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements / Q000235:genetics*; D015321:Gene Rearrangement / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D014178:Translocation, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D019895:Transposases / Q000378:metabolism
D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D019895:Transposases