Playing second fiddle: second-strand processing and liberation of transposable elements from donor DNA

Retroviruses and many transposons of both prokaryotes and eukaryotes share similar chemical reactions in their transposition. Some elements remain attached to donor DNA during transposition and their translocation results in a fusion between target and donor replicons. However, many elements are separated from their flanking donor DNA prior to their insertion into a target site, which requires processing of both strands at both ends of the element. A variety of strategies have been adopted for cleavage of the second, complementary strand to liberate the transposon.