Transposons and New Discoveries

Transposons are an important topic within our bioinformatics chapter in which short segments of DNA move from one site within a genome to a different site. This article discusses how scientists have re-created a precursor gene to two current human genes. This gene is called Harbringer3_DR and is a transposon. This research could be enlightening to scientists who are attempting to more precisely control where genes incorporate themselves during gene therapy. This particular transposon, Harbringer3_DR, is unique for its ability to insert itself into a genome in a specific manner by recognizing certain DNA sequences.

Transposons typically code for transposase, an enzyme that facilitates transposition, but this transposon also codes for another molecule that resembles a known protein. For this reason, researchers called this molecule Myb-like. The Harbringer3_DR gene exists in other animals, such as zebra fish. Scientists were able to synthesize Harbringer3_DR  using the gene in zebra fish as a template, then placed their constructed gene within a human cell. They were interested to find that the Myb-like protein allowed the transposon to enter the nucleus and brought it within the transposon's tips vicinity. This sparked further interest in discovering how the Myb-like protein and transposase work together to control where the gene is inserted.

In the future, scientists hope to use transposons as vehicles for therapeutic genes that can deliver these genes to specific locations.While inactivated viruses can also be used for this purpose, they are fairly random in their insertion site. Researchers intend to investigate a method of disabling the ability of a transposon to further jump from one location to another after it has been inserted into the desired spot. If this is discovered, there may be a major breakthrough in gene therapy!