Toggle Main Menu Toggle Search

Open Access padlockePrints

No recombination of mtDNA after heteroplasmy for 50 generations in the mouse maternal germline

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Jim StewartORCiD

Downloads


Licence

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0).


Abstract

Variants of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) are commonly used as markers to track human evolution because of the high sequence divergence and exclusive maternal inheritance. It is assumed that the inheritance is clonal, i.e. that mtDNA is transmitted between generations without germline recombination. In contrast to this assumption, a number of studies have reported the presence of recombinant mtDNA molecules in cell lines and animal tissues, including humans. If germline recombination of mtDNA is frequent, it would strongly impact phylogenetic and population studies by altering estimates of coalescent time and branch lengths in phylogenetic trees. Unfortunately, this whole area is controversial and the experimental approaches have been widely criticized as they often depend on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of mtDNA and/or involve studies of transformed cell lines. In this study, we used an in vivo mouse model that has had germline heteroplasmy for a defined set of mtDNA mutations for more than 50 generations. To assess recombination, we adapted and validated a method based on cloning of single mtDNA molecules in the λ phage, without prior PCR amplification, followed by subsequent mutation analysis. We screened 2922 mtDNA molecules and found no germline recombination after transmission of mtDNA under genetically and evolutionary relevant conditions in mammals.


Publication metadata

Author(s): Hagström E, Freyer C, Battersby BJ, Stewart JB, Larsson NG

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Nucleic Acids Research

Year: 2014

Volume: 42

Issue: 2

Pages: 1111-1116

Print publication date: 01/01/2014

Online publication date: 25/10/2013

Acceptance date: 01/10/2013

Date deposited: 21/12/2020

ISSN (print): 0305-1048

ISSN (electronic): 1362-4962

Publisher: Oxford University Press

URL: https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkt969

DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkt969

PubMed id: 24163253


Altmetrics

Altmetrics provided by Altmetric


Share