transposable element

noun

: a segment of genetic material that is capable of changing its location in the genome or in some bacteria of undergoing transfer between an extrachromosomal plasmid and a chromosome

Examples of transposable element in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web STRs themselves may arise in several ways — for example, through errors in DNA replication or the activity of DNA segments called transposable elements that make copies of themselves throughout the genome. Philip Ball, Quanta Magazine, 14 Feb. 2024 Most of these mobile sequences, called transposable elements, have since lost their jumping abilities, tamed by evolution. Celia Ford, WIRED, 17 July 2023 Most of these genes arose via gene duplication, rather than through transposable elements (genes that jump from one location to another). Diana Gitig, Ars Technica, 9 Nov. 2017

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Word History

First Known Use

1979, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of transposable element was in 1979

Dictionary Entries Near transposable element

Cite this Entry

“Transposable element.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/transposable%20element. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Medical Definition

transposable element

noun
: a segment of genetic material that is capable of changing its location in the genome or that in some bacteria is capable of undergoing transfer between an extrachromosomal plasmid and a chromosome

called also transposable genetic element

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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