What is mitochondrial inheritance?
Unlike nuclear genes, which are inherited from both parents, mitochondrial genes are inherited only from the mother. If there is a mutation in a mitochondrial gene, it is passed from a mother to all of her children; sons will not pass it on, but daughters will pass it on to all of their children, and so on. The first human disease that was associated with a mutation in mitochondrial DNA is called Leber’s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy, or LHON.
