Article
Random genetic drift in the female germline explains the rapid segregation of mammalian mitochondrial DNA.
Nature genetics - 1 Oct 1996
Jenuth J P, Peterson A C, Fu K, Shoubridge E A
Abstract excerpt
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is maternally inherited in mammals. Despite the high genome copy number in mature oocytes (10(5)) and the relatively small number of cell divisions in the female germline, mtDNA sequence variants segregate rapidly between generations. To investigate the molecular basis for this apparent paradox we created lines of heteroplasmic mice carrying two mtDNA genotypes. We show that the pattern...
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