How does a spindle nuclear transfer work? How does the baby have the DNA of 3 people?
In: 7
You get half of your chromosomal DNA from your father and half from your mother. That’s the normal 23 pairs of chromosomes (46 total, 23 from each), but there is another type, mitochondrial DNA
Mitochondrial DNA is a small loop of DNA found in your mitochondria (the powerhouse of the cell). Normally, you inherit this DNA from your mother, as the sperm cell doesn’t actually provide any. However, if you use a donor egg and replace the chromosomal DNA, the resulting baby will have 3 parents. A father will provide half the DNA, the mother provides the other half, and the egg don’t will be the mitochondrial mother, only providing the mitochondrial DNA.
Mitochondria have their own DNA because millions of years ago, an amoeba ate another bacteria and didn’t digest it. Instead, the bacteria started making energy for the amoeba and became a mitochondria, which gave that amoeba an advantage to reproduce more. Today, all life with mitochondria descended from that amoeba. Since that bacteria that was eaten had its own DNA, it has stuck around. I don’t know if it has any modern functions, but I do know that certain mitochondrial genes in humans are linked to Alzhiemer’s.
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