This document discusses transposable elements, which are discrete DNA sequences that can move to different locations within a genome. It covers the history of their discovery, mechanisms of transposition, classification into retrotransposons and DNA transposons, and examples found in bacteria. Specifically, it describes three types of bacterial transposable elements - insertion sequences, composite transposons, and non-composite transposons. The effects of transposable elements include gene inactivation, mutation, and their role in disease, but they can also help organisms adapt to stress and confer antibiotic resistance in bacteria.