An article published in the journal “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences” describes the possible role of transposons, commonly called jumping genes, in the emergence of eukaryotic organisms, the ones formed by complex cells that also include multicellular ones. A team of researchers conducted experiments in particular on retrotransposons, which to integrate into DNA require an RNA intermediate, to assess their effects on bacteria. The result is that a DNA repair mechanism typical of eukaryotes but rare in bacteria increases the efficiency of insertion and the effect of retrotransposons suggesting a possible role in the evolution of eukaryotes.