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Transposon Day 2025

Every year on June 16th we celebrate Transposon day, commemorating the birthdate of the founder of transposable elements research, Barbara McClintock (1902-1992). View our Transposon Day page to read our editors thoughts on Barbara McClintock and her legacy, and see popular articles from the last year.

Call for Papers: Viral Mimicry

Mobile DNA is calling for submissions to our Collection on Viral Mimicry. This Collection will focus on unanswered questions about the evolution of viral mimicry; its role as a broad sensor of transcriptional dysregulation; and the degree to which it plays a causal role in inflammation in aging and diseases such as cancer, autoimmunity, and neurodegenerative disorders.

Call for Papers: The Cis-Regulatory Impact of Transposable Elements on Gene Expression

Mobile DNA is calling for submissions to our Collection on The Cis-Regulatory Impact of Transposable Elements (TEs) on Gene Expression. This Collection aims at exploring the various facets by which TEs can impact the expression of genes beyond the simple disruption of their protein-coding capacity, through compilation of new and original results on species across the tree of life, including cultivated organisms and natural populations.

Featured series: Transposable Elements in Model Organisms

New Content ItemWe are proud to present a new series of review papers focused on transposable elements (TE) in model organisms. This series will deliver a comprehensive and even coverage of the diversity of TEs populating the model species; outstanding questions and future directions with the study of TEs in species; and much more

New Content Item

Mobile Genetic Elements
Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA, August 28-30

Organised by:
Blair Paul, Vladimir Kapitonov, Irina Arkhipova, Marine Biological Laboratory; Phoebe Rice, The University of Chicago; Cedric Feschotte, Cornell University

Abstract Deadline: July 25, 2025 
Find out more: https://www.eventsquid.com/event/28372

New Content Item

Endogenous Retrotransposable Elements & Human Diseases
Riviera Maya, Mexico, November 3-6, 2025

Organised by:
Katherine Chiappinelli, George Washington University School of Medicine, USA
Hui Shen, Van Andel Institute, USA
Ting Wang, Washington University School of Medicine, USA
Tao Wu, Baylor College of Medicine, USA

Keynote Speaker:
Daniel de Carvalho, University of Toronto, USA

Abstract Deadline: Talk - 03 September 2025 | Poster – 24 September 2025
Find out more: http://bit.ly/44wbGlq
 

New Content Item

The Mobile Genome: Genetic and Physiological Impacts of Transposable Elements
Heidelberg, Germany, November 4-7, 2025 (virtual option available)

Organised by:
Déborah Bourc'his, Institut Curie, France
Julius Brennecke, Institute of Molecular Biotechnology, Vienna, Austria
Josefa González, Institut Botanic De Barcelona (CSIC), Spain 
Joseph Peters, Cornell University, USA

Keynote Speakers:
Orsolya Barabas, University of Geneva, Switzerland
Henry Levin, National Institutes of Health, USA

Abstract Deadline: July 29, 2025
Find out more: https://www.embl.org/about/info/course-and-conference-office/events/mge25-01/

Editors' Picks


A de novo-originated gene drives rose scent diversification. 

Li Y, Li R, Shang J, Zhao K, Sui Y, Liu Z, Yan H, Bao M, Liang M, Zhao Q, Yuan YW, Ning G.

Cell. 2025 Aug 22:S0092-8674(25)00925-0. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2025.08.011. Online ahead of print.

PMID: 40902596

Navigating the Maze of Maize Genomics: The Impact of Transposable Elements and Tandem Repeats. 

Heringer P, Benson CW, Ou S.

Cold Spring Harb Protoc. 2025 Sep 2;2025(9):pdb.top108441. doi: 10.1101/pdb.top108441.

PMID: 39237452 Review.

Four Strategies for Whole-Genome Annotation of Transposable Elements and Repeats in Maize. 

Benson CW, Heringer P, Ou S.

Cold Spring Harb Protoc. 2025 Sep 2;2025(9):pdb.prot108578. doi: 10.1101/pdb.prot108578.

PMID: 39237454

Sanctuary: a Starship transposon facilitating the movement of the virulence factor ToxA in fungal wheat pathogens. 

Bucknell A, Wilson HM, Gonçalves Dos Santos KC, Simpfendorfer S, Milgate A, Germain H, Solomon PS, Bentham A, McDonald MC.

mBio. 2025 Sep 4:e0137125. doi: 10.1128/mbio.01371-25. Online ahead of print.

PMID: 40905677

Lactococcal mobile genetic elements harbour a diverse phage defensome rich in restriction-modification systems. 

McDonnell B, Kelleher P, Fomenkov A, Charneco GO, Coughlan K, Quénée P, Kulakauskas S, Cambillau C, Anton BP, de Waal PP, van Peij NNME, Bottacini F, Mahony J, Roberts RJ, van Sinderen D.

Nucleic Acids Res. 2025 Sep 5;53(17):gkaf854. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkaf854.

PMID: 40923768

Find full list here.

Aims and scope

Mobile DNA is an online, peer-reviewed, open access journal that publishes articles providing novel insights into the function, biological impact, and evolution of transposable elements in any organism. Topics related to transposable elements may include genetic or epigenetic variation, genome rearrangements, mechanisms, patterns and processes of transposition, and the role of mobile elements in host genome evolution.

Mobile DNA aims to understand:
  • mechanisms of intra- and intergenomic mobility via genetic, comparative genomic, biochemical and structural approaches
  • regulation of DNA rearrangements by the environment and during development
  • how DNA restructuring reshapes cellular function and organism evolution
  • the role of transposable elements in disease in a variety of organisms
  • host—element interaction and genetic/epigenetic regulatory networks

Mobile DNA reflects the need for a journal that spans all aspects of specialized recombination, from structure and mechanism to evolutionary impact. In addition, the journal will consider articles on the utility of mobile genetic elements in biotechnological methods and protocols, and related biocomputational tools.

Links to Useful TE Community Resources

Transposable elements labs directory

Women in TEs (maintained by Cedric Feschotte)

Job vacancies

Transposons Worldwide SLACK Page (Managed by Rebecca Berrens)

Mobile DNA Tools Collection

TE digest (Managed by Alexander Suh)

TE Hub

TnCentral

TnPedia

ISfinder (Insertion Sequence database)

Annual Journal Metrics

  • Citation Impact 
    Journal Impact Factor: 3.1 (2024)   
    5-year Journal Impact Factor: 4.5 (2024)    
    Source Normalized Impact per Paper (SNIP): 1.077 (2024)    
    SCImago Journal Rank (SJR): 2.479 (2024)

    Speed 
    Submission to first editorial decision (median days): 7
    Submission to acceptance (median days): 129

    Usage 2024
    Downloads: 338,221
    Altmetric mentions: 262