Cohen S N
Nature. 1976 Oct 28;263(5580):731-8. doi: 10.1038/263731a0.
Transposable elements of DNA that are structurally defined and genetically discrete units seem to have an important role in the evolution of bacterial plasmids. Recombination occurring at the termini of such elements can result in the joining together of unrelated DNA segments that lack extensive nucleotide sequence homology. In addition, transposable elements serve as novel biological switches capable of turning on and off the expression of nearby genes as a consequence of their insertion into or excision from plasmid genomes.
在结构上有明确界定且在基因上是离散单元的DNA转座元件，似乎在细菌质粒的进化中发挥着重要作用。发生在这些元件末端的重组可导致缺乏广泛核苷酸序列同源性的不相关DNA片段连接在一起。此外，转座元件作为新型生物开关，由于它们插入质粒基因组或从质粒基因组中切除，能够开启和关闭附近基因的表达。
