transposon
noun
trans·po·son
tran(t)s-ˈpō-zän 
: 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
The team behind the pregnancy finding hadn’t set out to study transposons.
—
Bycatherine Offord, science.org, 24 Oct. 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
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
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
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Bycatherine Offord, science.org, 24 Oct. 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
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
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
Cite this Entry
“Transposon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/transposon. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
transposon
noun
trans·po·son
ˌtran(t)s-ˈpō-ˌzän
: a transposable element especially when it contains genetic material controlling functions other than those related to its relocation
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