Do mitochondria recombine in humans?
Until very recently, mitochondria were thought to be clonally inherited through the maternal line in most higher animals. However, three papers published in 2000 claimed population-genetic evidence of recombination in human mitochondrial DNA. Here I review the current state of the debate. I review the evidence for the two main pathways by which recombination might occur: through paternal leakage and via a mitochondrial DNA sequence in the nuclear genome. There is no strong evidence for either pathway, although paternal leakage seems a definite possibility. However, the population-genetic evidence, although not conclusive, is strongly suggestive of recombination in mitochondrial DNA. The implications of non-clonality for our understanding of human and mitochondrial evolution are discussed.
Eyre-Walker
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Centre for the Study of Evolution and School of Biological Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK. a.c.eyre-walker@sussex.ac.uk
D000818:Animals; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial; D006801:Humans; D015810:Linkage Disequilibrium; D008928:Mitochondria; D011995:Recombination, Genetic
D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial