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McClintock is an American scientist and cytogeneticist who won the Nobel Prize in 1983 for the discovery of transposons or “jumping genes”.

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Barbara McClintock discovered genes that she called "jumping genes" which could move from one site of a chromosome to another. These genes affected those around them and caused frequent genetic variations in a species. McClintock's discovery, however, was ignored and dismissed by many scientists who believed that genes were stationary. Only years later was McClintock's work recognized all over the world.

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McClintock discovered the jumping genes in the late 1940s.

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McClintock looked into Rollins Emerson's research about purple and brown spots on corn (see image). She bred corn plants with the recessive brown phenotype with those with dominant white phenotypes. According to Mendel's theory, the offspring should have white kernels; however, McClintock noticed some of the kernels on the corn were brown. She eventually concluded that this was because a chromosome broke and lost an allele (the "jumping gene"). McClintock believed that each kernel with 3 alleles lost both of their dominant alleles thus causing the brown, recessive allele to show. Her evidence, therefore, proved the existence of transposable genes.

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Jumping genes insert themselves into genomes and alter genetic expressions which causes mutations to occur thus creating new, unique sequences of DNA. For example, transposons contribute to the existence of adaptive immunity in vertebrates. This new DNA thus leads to greater genetic variation within a species, which influences how the population will evolve as it allows for more diversity during natural selection.

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https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1219372109

https://www.genome.gov/25520251/online-education-kit-1944-jumping-genes

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1219372109

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Barbara-McClintock

https://www.nobelprize.org/womenwhochangedscience/stories/barbara-mcclintock

https://embryo.asu.edu/pages/barbara-mcclintocks-transposon-experiments-maize-1931-1951

https://www.the-scientist.com/features/adapting-with-a-little-help-from-jumping-genes-69566

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/02/210222124540.htm