Mitochondrial DNA
Most DNA is found in the centre of a cell, the nucleus. Mitochondria is a part of a cell, which is found in the fluid that surrounds the nucleus (known as the cytoplasm) but it, too, also contains its own DNA information, known as mitochondrial DNA.
Each living cell in an organism can contain thousands of Mitochondria. The DNA contained in Mitochondria provides the essential information that enables the role of the Mitochondria in the cells themselves to function correctly. This DNA contains the information that helps cells to assemble proteins, and is also responsible for providing the cell with the mechanisms to generate cell repair.
It has been identified that Mitochondrial DNA patterns are inherited solely from the mother. This is because, during fertilisation between a sperm and an egg, the Mitochondrial information that is present in a sperm is usually destroyed. This pattern is not only visible in humans but also in animals – even in some plant life such as fungi. Therefore, examinations of Mitochondrial DNA can produce reliable and accurate information regarding genetic inheritance of diseases, to establish whether an illness originates genetically in the family and will be inherited again. Most importantly, the origins of Mitochondrial DNA in mothers only has also allowed for the lineage of families to be traced through multiple generations, and has even been studied in attempts to research the female origin of humanity. In particular, Mitochondrial DNA is also the means by which a maternity can be verified through a maternity test.
