The Selfish Spread of Transposon-encoded Nucleases: Unveiling Key Biological Processes

Transposons, a type of mobile genetic element, have been found to encode nucleases that use guide RNAs to promote their own spread. These transposon-encoded nucleases function similarly to the CRISPR-Cas system, allowing them to target and cut specific DNA sequences. This discovery sheds light on the evolutionary relationship between transposons and CRISPR-Cas systems, and highlights the diverse mechanisms by which mobile genetic elements can influence genome editing and horizontal gene transfer in microbial populations.