Mitochondrial DNA is inherited from which parent?

Mitochondrial DNA is inherited from which parent?

• A. Mother
• B. Father
• C. Both parents
• D. None

Answer: (A)

Mitochondrial DNA is inherited from the mother. Mitochondria come from the egg’s cytoplasm, and after fertilization the sperm’s mitochondria are typically degraded, so the offspring’s mitochondrial genome is essentially a copy of the mother’s. This maternal inheritance is why mtDNA is used to trace maternal lineages in forensic and evolutionary contexts. Rare paternal leakage can occur, but it’s extremely uncommon and not relied upon in standard analyses. The other options don’t fit because the father does not pass mtDNA to the child, nuclear DNA comes from both parents while mtDNA is matrilineal, and there is a parent who provides mtDNA—the mother.

Mitochondrial DNA is inherited from the mother. Mitochondria come from the egg’s cytoplasm, and after fertilization the sperm’s mitochondria are typically degraded, so the offspring’s mitochondrial genome is essentially a copy of the mother’s. This maternal inheritance is why mtDNA is used to trace maternal lineages in forensic and evolutionary contexts. Rare paternal leakage can occur, but it’s extremely uncommon and not relied upon in standard analyses. The other options don’t fit because the father does not pass mtDNA to the child, nuclear DNA comes from both parents while mtDNA is matrilineal, and there is a parent who provides mtDNA—the mother.