Complex Transmission Patterns and Age-Related Dynamics of a Selfish mtDNA Deletion.

ABSTRACT: Despite wide-ranging implications of selfish mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) elements for human disease and topics in evolutionary biology (e.g., speciation), the forces controlling their formation, age-related accumulation, and offspring transmission remain largely unknown. Selfish mtDNA poses a significant challenge to genome integrity, mitochondrial function, and organismal fitness. For instance, numerous human diseases are associated with mtDNA mutations; however, few genetic systems can simultaneously represent pathogenic mitochondrial genome evolution and inheritance. The nematode Caenorhabditis briggsae is one such system. Natural C. briggsae isolates harbor varying levels of a large-scale deletion affecting the mitochondrial nduo-5 gene, termed nad5Δ. A subset of these isolates contains

SUBMITTER: Sullins JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6797909 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature