Which is a True Statement About Mitochondrial Genomes

Question

Which is a true statement about mitochondrial genomes?
A)In most cases, the mitochondrial genome is transmitted, largely intact, from one parent to offspring.
B)Mitochondrial inheritance shows Mendel's principle of segregation.
C)Mitochondrial inheritance shows Mendel's principle of independent assortment.
D)All of the choices are correct.

Accepted Answer

Mitochondrial genomes are typically inherited from the mother in a process known as maternal inheritance. This means that the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) you have is largely a copy of your mother's mtDNA, passed down with little to no recombination, unlike nuclear DNA which undergoes recombination and follows Mendel's principles of segregation and independent assortment.