Paternal inheritance of mitochondrial DNA in mice

U Gyllensten; D Wharton; A Josefsson; A C Wilson

doi:10.1038/352255a0

Paternal inheritance of mitochondrial DNA in mice

Nature. 1991 Jul 18;352(6332):255-7. doi: 10.1038/352255a0.

Authors

U Gyllensten¹, D Wharton, A Josefsson, A C Wilson

Affiliation

¹ Department of Medical Genetics, University of Uppsala, Sweden.

PMID: 1857422
DOI: 10.1038/352255a0

Abstract

For nearly 20 years it has been assumed on the basis of low-resolution experiments that mitochondrial (mt)DNA, in contrast to the genes in the nucleus, has an exclusively maternal mode of inheritance in animals. Using the polymerase chain reaction, paternally inherited mtDNA molecules have now been detected in mice at a frequency of 10(-4), relative to the maternal contributions. These mice were hybrids between two inbred strains (C57BL/6J and Mus spretus) whose mtDNAs can be distinguished easily. This new mode of inheritance provides a mechanism for generating heteroplasmy and may explain mitochondrial disorders exhibiting biparental transmission.

Publication types

Comparative Study
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Animals
Base Sequence
Crosses, Genetic
DNA, Mitochondrial / genetics*
Female
Male
Mice
Mice, Inbred C57BL / genetics*
Molecular Sequence Data
Muridae / genetics*
Oligonucleotide Probes
Polymerase Chain Reaction / methods
Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid

Substances

DNA, Mitochondrial
Oligonucleotide Probes