Mitochondrial DNA Essay

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Abstract
Mitochondrial DNA, the genetic material found inside the mitochondria within our cells, is essential for normal mitochondrial function. Human mitochondrial DNA follows a maternal inheritance pattern, meaning that each individual receives it from their mother (“What is Mitochondrial DNA? – Genetics Home Reference,” 2017). This inheritance pattern, along with the presence of polymorphisms within the mitochondrial DNA between populations allowed us to determine when and where our maternal linage arose. In this experiment, our genomic DNA was isolated from cheek cells and then quantified using a Nanodrop before running a PCR reaction to ensure an adequate amount of genetic material was present. A PCR reaction was then run to amplify a hypervariable region of our mitochondrial DNA. We then ran an agarose gel-electrophoresis test to ensure that the PCR reaction was successful in amplifying our mitochondrial DNA. The PCR product was cleaned to guarantee that there was a pure DNA product. Our mitochondrial DNA was then sent out be sequenced to a) determine our ancestral lineage on our maternal
There are several major haplogroup types that define different populations. From Africa came L0, L1, L2, and L3 haplogroups. Haplogroups M and N arose from the L3 line, and these populations migrated. The haplogroup M lineage can be found in Asia and gave rise to lineages C, D, G, Q, and Z, while the haplogroup N lineage predominantly moved to Europe, and gave rise to haplogroup A, I, W, X, and R. R eventually became the root of European haplogroups B, F, H, J, T, U, and P . While these account for the major haplogroup types, there are also a plethora of sub-haplogroups that have arisen from each major haplogroup type (Stewart & Chinnery,

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