transposon

noun

trans·​po·​son tran(t)s-ˈpō-zän How to pronounce transposon (audio)
: a transposable element especially when it contains genetic material controlling functions other than those related to its relocation

Examples of transposon in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web To show this was potentially useful for gene editing, the researchers blocked the production of the transposon's own RNA and fed it a replacement RNA that worked. John Timmer, Ars Technica, 26 June 2024 Yet bacterial transposons do exist, and a team of scientists based in the US and Japan identified one with a rather unusual feature. John Timmer, Ars Technica, 26 June 2024 Researchers believe they’re somehow partnered with transposons — maybe helping them, or perhaps hitching a ride. Amber Dance, Discover Magazine, 2 Feb. 2024 Some of these system-wide changes removed repetitive segments of DNA or took out pieces called transposons that make genomes more prone to mutation. IEEE Spectrum, 10 Mar. 2017 Get Quanta Magazine delivered to your inbox Introduction Previous studies of horizontal transfers have often focused on the mobile genetic elements called transposons. Saugat Bolakhe, Quanta Magazine, 3 Aug. 2023 In 2020, their work uncovered nearly 1,000 distinct horizontal transfers involving transposons that had occurred in over 300 vertebrate genomes. Jake Buehler, Quanta Magazine, 30 Mar. 2023 In 2021 Wang discovered a transposon that activates a critical gene in mouse embryos; delete that single transposon, and many of the embryos die. Douglas Fox, Scientific American, 1 Feb. 2022 The parallels between introners and transposons strongly suggested a possible answer to the mystery of where most introns came from. Jake Buehler, Quanta Magazine, 30 Mar. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'transposon.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

transpose + -on entry 2

First Known Use

1974, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of transposon was in 1974

Dictionary Entries Near transposon

Cite this Entry

“Transposon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/transposon. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Medical Definition

transposon

noun
trans·​po·​son ˌtran(t)s-ˈpō-ˌzän How to pronounce transposon (audio)
: a transposable element especially when it contains genetic material controlling functions other than those related to its relocation

More from Merriam-Webster on transposon

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!