ANSWER: Presence of more than one type of mitochondrial DNA within a cell or individual
Explanation:
- Mitochondria, the powerhouses of the cell, are unique in several ways.
- A cell can have multiple mitochondriae, with each mitochondriae differing from one another by a few variations. This phenomenon is known as heteroplasmy.
- Heteroplasmy can vary between cells of the same tissue, organ, individual or even between individuals of the same family. It is present in healthy individuals too.
- A person does not manifest the disease when the heteroplasmy frequencies are low, usually less than 10 per cent.
- Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), Delhi, has the global data of every disease causing mitochondrial mutation and its frequency.
|
