Lecture 5, Transposons, Pt. 2 Brief review on the groups of transposons

In this video, we discuss how transposons are classified and explore several major groups. We look at Alu, the most abundant human retrotransposon, and its possible origin from the signal recognition particle (SRP). Among DNA transposons, we focus on Helitrons, an unusual group, and examine two proposed transposition mechanisms: one involving a circular single-stranded DNA intermediate and the other known as “copy-in” transposition. Finally, we explore transposable bacteriophages and how they integrate into—and excise themselves from—the bacterial genome.