piggyBacTransposony

The piggyBac transposon superfamily is a relatively recently recognized transposon superfamily. The original piggyBac transposon was isolated from the genome of the cabbage looper moth, Trichoplusia ni in the 1980s. However, the second member of thepiggyBac-like element superfamily was not identified until 2000. It was not described as a transposon superfamily in the previous edition of Mobile DNA. In the last decade or so, a number of sequenced genomes have revealed that piggyBac-like elements are actually widespread DNA transposons. Active copies of the transposon have also been identified from another moth species, from frogs, and for the first time, from a mammal. Moreover, because the piggyBac transposon has a broad host spectrum from yeast to mammals, this mobile element has been widely used for a variety of applications in a diverse range of organisms. In this chapter, we will describe the discovery and diversity of the piggyBac transposon, its mechanism of transposition, and its application as a genetic tool. We will also provide two examples of genetic screening that the piggyBac transposon has enabled.