Definition: Mitochondrial DNA which is passed down from the mother to all her children, males and females. The genetic material of the mitochondria, the organelles that generate energy for the cell.
Context: A major result from phylogeographic analyses based on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is the repeated identification of deep historical subdivisions (hereafter mtDNA phylogroups made up of distinct mtDNA haplotypes) within many vertebrate taxa (Avise 2000). The evolutionary significance of these mtDNA lineages, however, remains largely unresolved. In particular, it is unclear how frequently these mtDNA phylogroups represent independently evolving lineages that have developed substantial amounts of adaptive differentiation vs. those that show little differentiation in functional variation (Avise et al. 1998)
Expression: Human Mitochondrial DNA
Weighting mark: nor
Sources:
Term: EMERY, A. (2009), Elementos de genética médica. Barcelona: Ed. Elsevier, 13ª Edición. (Revisión científica a cargo del Dr. Rafael Oliva Virgili).
Context: ADN mitocondrial (s.m). En Marcadores moleculares de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Recuperado de http://pendientedemigracion.ucm.es/info/genforen/tecnicas1.htm
Notes: DNA mitocondrial (n.m) En noticias de la Universidad autónoma de Barcelona. Recuperado de http://www.uab.es/servlet/Satellite/noticias/detalle-de-una-noticia/nuevos-avances-en-el-estudio-del-dna-mitocondrial-humano-1099409749848.html?noticiaid=1345661391704
Images:
http://www.webmed.ch/Archiv_akuelle_Meldungen/Mitochondriale_Erkrankungen.htm (abgerufen im November 2013).