of those less active elements increase in the host genome. Horizontal transfer Horizontal transfer refers to the movement of DNA information between cells of different organisms. Horizontal transfer can involve the movement of TEs from one organism into the genome of another. The insertion itself allows the TE to become an activated gene in the new host. Horizontal transfer is used by DNA transposons to prevent inactivation and complete loss of the transposon. This inactivation is termed vertical inactivation, meaning that the DNA transposon is inactive and remains as a fossil. This type of transfer is not the most common, but has been seen in the case of the wheat virulence protein ToxA, which was transferred between the different fungal pathogens Parastagonospora nodorum, Pyrenophora tritici-repentis, and Bipolaris sorokiniana. Other examples include transfer between marine crustaceans, insects of different orders, and organisms of different phyla, such as humans and nematodes. Evolution Eukaryotic genomes differ in TE content. Recently, a study of the different superfamilies of TEs reveals that there are striking similarities between the groups. It has been hypothesized that many of them are represented in two or more Eukaryotic supergroups. This means that divergence of the transposon superfamilies could even predate the divergence of Eukaryotic supergroups. V(D)J recombination V(D)J recombination, although not a DNA TE, is remarkably similar to transposons. V(D)J recombination is the process by which the large variation in antibody binding sites is created. In this mechanism, DNA is recombined in order to create genetic diversity. Because of this, it has been hypothesized that these proteins, particularly Rag1 and Rag2 are derived from transposable elements. Extinction in the human genome There is evidence suggesting that at least 40 human DNA transposon families were active during mammalian radiation and early primate lineage. Then, there was a pause in transpositional activity during the later portion of primate radiation, with a complete halt in transposon movement in an anthropoid primate ancestor. There is no evidence of any transposable element younger than about 37 million years. References External links Dfam, a database of repeating DNA sequences Repbase, a database and classification system for repeating DNA sequences DNA transposon derived genes, in HGNC database DNA Mobile genetic elements