I know I have half of my actual DNA from each of my parents but I got 100% of my mitochondrial DNA from my mother. Does this mean I’m more genetically similar to my mother?
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Technically, yes. So, while you have half of your nuclear DNA from each parent, you have 100% of your mtDNA from your mother. This means that you are more genetically similar to your mother in terms of your mtDNA.
Nuclear DNA is more important than mtDNA for determining overall genetic similarity. This is because nuclear DNA contains the instructions for building and maintaining all of the different types of cells in the body, while mtDNA is only involved in energy production.
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