Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
miniature inverted-repeat transposable element
References
Britannica AI Icon

miniature inverted-repeat transposable element

genetics
Also known as: MITE, class III transposons
Written by
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

The Information Architects maintain a master list of the topics included in the corpus of  Encyclopædia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them.
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last updated

Quick Summary

Miniature inverted-repeat transposable elements (MITEs) are a type of genetic element that can move to different locations within a genome. They are characterized by their short length, typically 400 to 600 base pairs, and by a 15-base pair sequence that appears in a mirror image at each end.1

The exact mechanism by which MITEs move is not fully understood. Unlike some other transposons, MITEs do not seem to produce proteins. They are often found in active gene regions, and it's proposed they may have a role in gene regulation. Some evidence suggests that certain microRNAs (miRNAs), which are involved in gene regulation, may originate from MITEs. Thousands of MITEs have been identified in various organisms, including rice and Caenorhabditis elegans.1

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
3 Britannica Sources
  1. acarid
  2. transposon
  3. mite

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.