Transposon Tc1 of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans jumps in human cells

The transposon Tc1 of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans is a member of the widespread family of Tc1/mariner transposons, The distribution pattern of virtually identical transposons among insect species that diverged 200 million years ago suggested horizontal transfer of the elements between species. This hypothesis gained experimental support when it was shown that Tc1 and later also mariner transposons could be made to jump in vitro, with their transposase as the only protein required. Later it was shown that mariner transposons from one fruit fly species can jump in other fruit fly species and in a protozoan and, recently, that a Tc1-like transposon from the nematode jumps in fish cells and that a fish Tc1-like transposon jumps in human cells. Here we show that the Tc1 element from the nematode jumps in human cells. This provides further support for the horizontal spread hypothesis. Furthermore, it suggests that Tc1 can be used as vehicle for DNA integration in human gene therapy.