It is of particular importance as its discovery in Escherichia coli by Larry Taylor was among the first observations of insertion elements in a genome.

While Mu was specifically involved in several distinct areas of research (including E. coli, maize, and HIV), the wider implications of transposition and insertion transformed the entire field of genetics.

He likened the observed genetic alteration to the ‘controlling elements’ in maize, and named the phage ‘Mu’, for mutation.

Over the next sixty years, the complexities of the phage were fleshed out by numerous researchers and labs, resulting in a far deeper understanding of mobile DNA and the mechanisms underlying transposable elements.

[5] 1979: Jim Shapiro develops a Mu inspired model for transposition involving the ‘Shapiro Intermediate,’ in which both the donor and the target undergo two cleavages and then the donor is ligated into the target, creating two replication forks and allowing for both transposition and replication.