Question

Which of the following statements about transposable genetic elements is NOT true?

Answer 1

Answer:

C. They all use a cut and paste mechanism.

Explanation:

DNA transposons can go through a replicative or nonreplicative transposition.

The replicative transposition uses a "copy and paste" mechanism that consists of the introduction of a new copy of the transposable element in a new position, meanwhile the old copy remains in the original position. This determines an increase in the number of copies.

The nonreplicative transposition uses a "cut and paste" mechanism that consists of the cleavage of the transposable element from its position and its insertion in a new position without increasing the number of copies.

Retrotransposons, on the other side, move through RNA intermediates generated by the reverse transcriptase.