Saturday Genetics Quiz #14: Nuclear DNA vs Mitochondrial DNA
This week’s genetics quiz question:
What are the main differences between nuclear DNA and mitochondrial DNA?
Answer:
When people refer to DNA, they’re usually referring to nuclear DNA. Nuclear DNA is found in the nucleus of cells and is a combination of DNA from both the mother and father. Nuclear DNA has a higher lower mutation rate than mitochondrial DNA.
More than one copy of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is found in the mitochondria of cells, which are involved in the production of cellular energy. MtDNA is inherited from mothers only so both their sons and daughters have the same mitochondrial DNA as well as successive generations. The clear matrilineal transmission of mtDNA makes it useful in studying genealogy and identifying individuals.
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3 opinions for Saturday Genetics Quiz #14: Nuclear DNA vs Mitochondrial DNA
Genetics and Health » Tracing Mitochondrial DNA
Dec 15, 2006 at 11:15 am
[…] This was an excerpt of the answer which will probably be online for nonsubscribers soon. Read more about mitochondrial DNA in genetics quiz #14. […]
diyana nordin
Feb 28, 2007 at 5:26 pm
refering to the question ‘What are the main differences between nuclear DNA and mitochondrial DNA?’, the partial of the answer given was, ‘Nuclear DNA has a higher mutation rate than mitochondrial DNA’. i think it is the opposite way as there are dna repair mechanism in nuclear dna while none in the mitochondrial dna.
Hsien Hsien Lei, PhD
Feb 28, 2007 at 5:36 pm
diyana: Thank you for the correction! What a dreadful mistake.
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