Q.DNA element with ability to change position is called

Transposons (transposable elements), popularly called 'jumping genes', are DNA sequences capable of moving from one position to another within a genome. Barbara McClintock first reported them in 1948 in maize, describing them as 'mobile controlling elements' while studying the unstable, mosaic blue/brown/red pigmentation pattern in maize kernel aleurone tissue, caused by irregular anthocyanin pigment production; the modern term 'transposon' was later coined by geneticist Alexander Brink. McClintock characterised the maize Ac (Activator) / Ds (Dissociation) two-component transposon system, whose somatic transposition activity produces the visible variegated kernel colour pattern. Transposons matter beyond their mobility: they contribute significantly to an organism's spontaneous mutation rate (by disrupting genes they land in or near), contribute to genetic diversity over evolutionary time, and are used deliberately in moder …