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Mitochondria are small structures in cells that generate energy for the cell to use, and are hence referred to as the "powerhouses" of the cell. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is not transmitted through nuclear DNA (nDNA). In humans, as in most multicellular organisms, mitochondrial DNA is inherited only from the mother's ovum.
In genetics, paternal mtDNA transmission and paternal mtDNA inheritance refer to the incidence of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) being passed from a father to his offspring. . Paternal mtDNA inheritance is observed in a small proportion of species; in general, mtDNA is passed unchanged from a mother to her offspring, [1] making it an example of non-Mendelian inh
Mitochondrial DNA is the small circular chromosome found inside mitochondria. These organelles, found in all eukaryotic cells, are the powerhouse of the cell. [1] The mitochondria, and thus mitochondrial DNA, are passed exclusively from mother to offspring through the egg cell.
Uniparental inheritance occurs in extranuclear genes when only one parent contributes organellar DNA to the offspring. A classic example of uniparental gene transmission is the maternal inheritance of human mitochondria. The mother's mitochondria are transmitted to the offspring at fertilization via the egg. The father's mitochondrial genes are ...
Conversely, organelle inheritance is uniparental, meaning the genes are all inherited from one parent. [ 8 ] It is also unlikely for organelle alleles to segregate independently, like nuclear alleles do, because plastid genes are usually on a single chromosome and recombination is limited by uniparental inheritance.
An individual's mitochondrial genes are inherited only from the mother, with rare exceptions. [168] In humans, when an egg cell is fertilized by a sperm, the mitochondria, and therefore the mitochondrial DNA, usually come from the egg only. The sperm's mitochondria enter the egg, but do not contribute genetic information to the embryo. [169]
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In almost every species, mitochondrial DNA is maternally inherited. [2] This means that all of the offspring of a female will have identical and homoplasmic mitochondrial DNA. It is very rare for females to pass on heteroplasmic or homoplasmic mutations because of the genetic bottleneck, where only a few out of many mitochondria actually are ...