Transposable elements are sometimes called "jumping genes." They consist of segments of DNA that can move from one position on a chromosome to another. In 1951, Nobel prize-winning Dr. Barbara McClintock proposed that genes are not fixed on chromosomes, but that they can move around on the chromosome. At first her findings were discarded because they contradicted the genetic concept of the day. Today, her discovery of what she calls transposable elements has an established place in science.

Transposable elements allow antibiotic resistance and increased variation. The genes move because they are part of a small circular auxiliary genome called a plasmid, which enters and leaves the main genome at a specific place where there is a nucleotide sequence that is also present on the plasmid. Other genes move within small fragments of the genome called transposons. Together, transposons and plasmids produce genetic recombinations.

Integration at a new position also transfers the gene to that new position. The repositioning may be random, but occurs at sequence-specific insertion points which means that the process is orderly. The splicing and repositioning is carried out by enzyme systems and involves the transfer of complete information. 

This article is adapted from The Genesis Conflict by Professor Walter J. Veith, PhD Zoology, renowned author, scientist, and lecturer from South Africa’s Cape Town University. Veith believes that the theory of evolution does not provide a plausible explanation of our origins. His findings are also available on DVD or online through Amazing Discoveries™.