Mitochondrial DNA

GENOMIC AND MITOCHONDRIAL DNA IN FORENSIC DENTISTRY The genomic DNA is found in the nucleus of each cell in the human body and represents a DNA source for most forensic applications. The teeth are an excellent source of genomic DNA because PCR analyses allow comparing the collected postmortem samples to known antemortem samples or parental DNA. Mitochondrial DNA is another type of material that can be used for body identification. Its main advantage is the high number of copies per cell (from hundreds

Until recent years, the mitochondrial genome, located in the mitochondrion, and the genetic information encoded by it have been given little attention. However, recently it became apparent that the mitochondrial genome, despite its small size, is crucial for the study of human evolution and disease, as mtDNA mutations lead to some serious diseases. Mitochondrial DNA is just a small part of the genome. It is a double-stranded circular DNA molecule encoding sequences of 13 polypeptides, which are

DNA can be a challenge to work with, especially ancient DNA after decomposition and fossilization have taken place (Kelman & Kelman, 1999). The perfect preservation condition for DNA is a cold and dry space with little temperature fluctuation (Shabihkhani et al., 2014). Also, it can be hard to decipher between ancient genetic material and a modern human's genetic material, when the antiquated DNA arises from close relatives (Perry & Orlando, 2015). Extracting DNA from the nucleus is challenging so

DNA from modern humans can be used to map human movement throughout the world and show how long a population has lived in a region. The DNA evidence suggests the origins of modern humans are in Africa. Absolute complete DNA testing of human and Neanderthal genomes indicates there was no genetic transfer of genetic information. This is an indication that Modern human population and Neanderthals could not/did not interbreed as Neanderthals evolved into separate species. This is evident in Rebecca Cann

Mitochondrial DNA is the small circular chromosome that is found inside mitochondria. These organelles that are found in cells are called the powerhouse of the cells. Mitochondria and Mitochondrial DNA are only passed from mother to offspring through the egg. Mitochondrial DNA is a small part of the DNA in a eukaryotic cell. There are 16,569 base pairs of mitochondrial DNA which only code for 37 genes. Mitochondrial DNA is very helpful in tracking ancestry through females and individuals

With new technology scientists have come up with a way to insert mitochondrial DNA of a healthy egg to one that is genetically damaged or impaired. “Scientists have also recently reported a method of extracting defective mitochondria, the energy powerhouses of cells, from a woman 's egg and replacing them with healthy mitochondria from a donor egg” (Ghose 2014). In 2015 there was the first reports of mitochondrial DNA transplant, “Three-parent babies” is a sensationalized term to describe a special

Figure 2. A visual of the mitochondrial DNA molecule shows where the DNA gets analyzed by forensic geneticists, the hypervariable regions 1 and 2. Figure 3. The results of the TaqMan system containing the DNA numbers from various analyzed sampled. Thesis Discussion DNA phenotyping serves to determine the physical attributes of a specific individual based off of genetic material that was left behind at a crime scene. By being able to determine physical traits such as hair color

there are two locations the DNA comes from-- the nucleus and the mitochondria. The DNA from the mitochondria is called the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), this DNA has over 16,000 base pairs (bps) that can be used to view the the lineage of a person’s history. The mitochondrial DNA is a good source to analyze the history for 5 reasons, the first reason is the mitochondrial DNA is produced in a vast quantity resulting in few samples to be used, the next reason is the DNA has a higher rate of substitution

Certain mitochondrial DNA mutations have been found to result in mitochondrial dysfunction and have been found to be heavily implicated in the aging process as well as various age-related disorders and diseases. The mutations in the mitochondria can occur in the mother and then be given to the offspring. To conduct the study, the authors used mice to test their theories. The scientists conducting the story wanted to find out just how much the mitochondrial mutations in the DNA could contribute

greater than for nuclear DNA because mtDNA molecules are present in hundreds to thousands of copies per cell compared to the nuclear complement of two copies per cell. Therefore, muscle, bone, hair, skin, blood and other body fluids (Morley et al., 1999; Gilbert, Janaway, Tobin, Cooper, & Wilson, 2006), even if degraded by environmental impact or time, may provide enough material for profiling the mtDNA position. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) provides a valuable focus for forensic DNA typing in certain