What is mitochondrial DNA?
4. Is mitochondrial DNA different from nuclear (or other forms) of DNA? 5. What is the inheritance pattern of mitochondrial DNA? 6. Is the inheritance pattern of mitochondrial DNA different from the inheritance patterns of other forms of DNA? 7. Who is (or was) Eve? 8. What is the Eve Theory? You may want to use the following sources, but you will want to search beyond these links to discover additional information to aid you in your conclusion. Check these sources: DNA From the Beginning A comprehensive overview, organized around key concepts. The science behind each concept is explained by: animation, image gallery, video interviews, problem, biographies, and links. The Great DNA Hunt This abstract from ‘Archaeology’, a professional journal, offers information of a ‘mitochondrial eve’. In addition, inheritance questions concerning the origins of the Japanese people are discussed. This site offers an interesting human migratory graphic.
Most DNA is located in the cell nucleus (where it is called nuclear DNA), but a small amount of DNA can also be found in the mitochondria (where it is called mitochondrial DNA or mtDNA). Mitochondrial DNA is passed from mother to all her children. Only the female may continue to pass her mtDNA on to her own children. Through mitochondrial DNA, one can trace back to the ancient ancestral origin of a maternal line.
DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is the gigantic molecule which is used to encode genetic information for all life on Earth. DNA molecules consists of a long strand of base molecules arranged in the form of a double helix. The bases are adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine, often abbreviated as A, G, C, and T. What we ordinarily think of as “our” DNA, because it controls most aspects of our physical appearance, is also known as “nuclear DNA”, because every cell in our bodies contains two copies of it in the cell nucleus. Mitochondria (singular: mitochondrion) are small energy-producing organelles found in cells. Surprisingly, mitochondria have their own DNA molecules, entirely separate from our nuclear DNA. Most cells contain between 500 and 1000 copies of the mtDNA molecule, which makes it a lot easier to find and extract than nuclear DNA. In humans the mtDNA genome consists of about 16,000 base pairs (far shorter than our nuclear DNA), and has been completely sequenced (for one individ
Mitochondria are structures within cells that convert the energy from food into a form that cells can use. Although most DNA is packaged in chromosomes within the nucleus, mitochondria also have a small amount of their own DNA. This genetic material is known as mitochondrial DNA or mtDNA. In humans, mitochondrial DNA spans about 16,500 DNA building blocks (base pairs), representing a small fraction of the total DNA in cells. Mitochondrial DNA contains 37 genes, all of which are essential for normal mitochondrial function. Thirteen of these genes provide instructions for making enzymes involved in oxidative phosphorylation. Oxidative phosphorylation is a process that uses oxygen and simple sugars to create adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the cell’s main energy source. The remaining genes provide instructions for making molecules called transfer RNA (tRNA) and ribosomal RNA (rRNA), which are chemical cousins of DNA. These types of RNA help assemble protein building blocks (amino acids) int
