Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Foundation for Research and Technology, Vassilika Vouton, PO Box 1385, Heraklion 71110, Crete, Greece.
Transposons are powerful tools for conducting genetic manipulation and functional studies in organisms that are of scientific, economic, or medical interest. Minos, a member of the Tc1/mariner family of DNA transposons, exhibits a low insertional bias and transposes with high frequency in vertebrates and invertebrates. Its use as a tool for transgenesis and genome analysis of rather different animal species is described.