Mitochondrial DNA is the small circular chromosome found inside mitochondria. These organelles, found in all eukaryotic cells, are the powerhouse of the cell.[1] The mitochondria, and thus mitochondrial DNA, are passed exclusively from mother to offspring through the egg cell.Illustration of the location of mitochondrial DNA in human cellsElectron microscopy reveals mitochondrial DNA in discrete foci. Bars: 200 nm. (A) Cytoplasmic section after immunogold labelling with anti-DNA; gold particles marking mtDNA are found near the mitochondrial membrane (black dots in the upper right). (B) Whole mount view of cytoplasm after extraction with CSK buffer and immunogold labelling with anti-DNA; mtDNA (marked by gold particles) resists extraction. From Iborra et al., 2004.[jargon][2]
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA and mDNA) is the DNA located in the mitochondriaorganelles in a eukaryotic cell that converts chemical energy from food into adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA is a small portion of the DNA contained in a eukaryotic cell; most of the DNA is in the cell nucleus, and, in plants and algae, the DNA also is found in plastids, such as chloroplasts.[3] Mitochondrial DNA is responsible for coding of 13 essential subunits of the complex oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) system which has a role in cellular energy conversion.[4]
^Hassanin A, An J, Ropiquet A, Nguyen TT, Couloux A (March 2013). "Combining multiple autosomal introns for studying shallow phylogeny and taxonomy of Laurasiatherian mammals: Application to the tribe Bovini (Cetartiodactyla, Bovidae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 66 (3): 766–775. Bibcode:2013MolPE..66..766H. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2012.11.003. PMID23159894.