Group Åström published an article entitled: Biochemical Characterization of Kat1: a Domesticated hAT-Transposase that Induces DNA Hairpin Formation and MAT-Switching in the Journal Scientific Reports.   The authors are: Kishore K. Chiruvella, Naghmeh Rajaei, Venkateswara Rao Jonna, Anders Hofer and Stefan U. Åström.

The article describes a protein called Kat1, which cleaves sequences in the Kluyveromyces lactis MATa locus, leading to a switch of mating type. It is demonstrated that Kat1 is evolutionary and functionally related to transposases, proteins that ensure the mobility of transposable elements. A biochemical characterization is presented, which shows that Kat1 displays several features of transposases, most notably generation of hairpin-capped DNA double strand breaks. This study hence explore how transposable elements can be domesticated and recruited to functions that are beneficial to the host. Kat1 promotes sexual reproduction in K. lactis.