Mitochondria Lab Report

There is strong evidence to prove that the mitochondria once existed as a free-living bacteria, and were engulfed by the primitive ancestor of eukaryotic cells in a arrangement called endosymbiosis. Mitochondria have evolved over thousands of years, but still share characteristic with bacteria such as: their genome is a circular molecule , have little non-coding DNA, and have their genes tightly packed with few intergenic regions between genes. Furthermore, mitochondria are organelles that contain a separate set of DNA from the rest of the cell and the body. Mitochondrion DNA contains 16,569 nucleotides and contains 37 genes. These genes are all involved in the production of energy and storage of ATP. The point of this lab is to understand how DNA can mutate over
time. Mitochondrial DNA is inherited from one parent, therefore there is no crossing over. Mitochondrial DNA is more susteable to point mutations, due to the production of free radicals in the cell membrane.
The region that is being studied is called the control region and this region is 1.1kb long. The control region mutates ten times faster than nuclear DNA, and tolerates the high rate of mutation. The control region is separated into to different regions called hyper variable segment I and hypervarible segment II. Hyper variable segment I is the region that will be analyzed in this lab, due to the fact it mutates fewer times than hyper variable II. Mtiochondial DNA can be inherited only from the mother in mamals. A haplotype is a group of genes that were inherited together from a single parent. Therefore, the mtDNA that a person receives is a haplotype that they receive from their mother. Since the control region mutates quickly, this DNA can be compared to the CRS and be placed in a haplogroup. A haplogroup is a way in which scientist define populations with the same genetic mutations. Mitochondria DNA has point mutations over time and these changes are inherited from the mother. The mitochondrial Eve is the matrilineal common ancestor in which all humans sprung from her mitochondrial
DNA. This mitochondrial Eve is haplogroup L0 and came from Africa. It took our ancestors thousands of years to populate the world and mirgrate to various parts of the planet. As a group migrated out of Africa and into the Asian minor mtDNA changed. People from the Asian minor then migrated into Europe, with this migration another mutation arised. Every few thousand years a change occurred in the mitochondria, this led to people around the world to have different mutations to their mtDNA. So, based on the mutations a person has, their ancestory can be determined. The main purpose of this lab is to analyze mutations in mtDNA, in order to best assest our matrinail lineage.