Retroposons/retrotransposition

A retrotransposon is a segment of DNA that can replicate itself within genomes through the process of retrotransposition . The reverse transcriptase enzyme is used by retroviruses to integrate a copy of their RNA sequence into a host genome. Seventy percent of the human genome is derived from transposable elements, compared with just 2 percent which actually codes for a protein. LINE1 elements and Alu elements are two of the most common types of retrotransposons in the human genome and novel LINE‐1 and Alu insertions continue to accumulate. Active retrotransposition provides one of the mechanisms by which populations acquire novel genetic variation, novel patterns of gene regulation, and novel phenotypes.