Mitochondria have their own DNA. In human mitochondria, the DNA is a double-helical circle that codes for 13 proteins. Mitochondria have a distinctive genetic code, and their genomes are not changed by meiosis during reproduction, making the DNA useful in genetic studies. The significance of mitochondria having their own DNA is that diseases can be inherited via abnormalities of mitochondrial DNA, and inheritance of the DNA is maternal, directly from the egg.
Mitochondrial DNA |
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