Kleckner N
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138.
Annu Rev Cell Biol. 1990;6:297-327. doi: 10.1146/annurev.cb.06.110190.001501.
Bacterial transposons are subject to a variety of regulatory processes that affect the quantity, quality, and timing of transposition events. Many of these processes seem specifically designed to provide features that favor the evolutionary success of the element. The most important conclusion reached from the identification and characterization of these regulatory mechanisms is that transposable elements are not mechanistic accidents of recent origin, but instead are highly evolved entities that have adapted to their ecological niche with a degree of sophistication comparable to that exhibited by plasmids and bacterial viruses.
细菌转座子受到多种调控过程的影响，这些过程会影响转座事件的数量、质量和时机。其中许多过程似乎是专门设计来提供有利于该元件进化成功的特性。从这些调控机制的鉴定和表征中得出的最重要结论是，转座元件不是近期起源的机械性意外，而是高度进化的实体，它们已经适应了其生态位，其复杂程度与质粒和细菌病毒相当。
