[trans-poh-zon] 
| a segment of DNA that is capable of inserting copies of itself into other DNA sites within the same cell. |
| trans·po·son (trāns-pō'zŏn) n. A segment of DNA that is capable of independently replicating itself and inserting the copy into a new position within the same or another chromosome or plasmid. [transpos(ition) + -on1.] |
Segments of DNA that shift from one area of a genome to another. Previously called jumping genes.
transposon trans·po·son (trāns-pō'zŏn)
n.
A segment of DNA having a repeat of an insertion sequence element at each end as well as genes specific to some other activity such as resistance to antibiotics; it is capable of migrating to a new position within the same or another chromosome, plasmid, or cell and thereby transferring genetic properties.
zɒn