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Why mtDNA is used to trace phylogeny?
Why mt genes like Cytochrome Oxidase gene is used to trace phylogeny? I know the fact of maternal inheritance, but I can't relate why only maternally inherited genes are preferred? What is wrong with the nuclear DNA.
Actually I have to give a practice lecture on a review work on the topic ''Use of mtDNA to trace the phylogeny of trout.'' I'm sure a question will arise in the interaction session ''What specialty does this mtDNA have?'' That's why I'm looking for the answer.
1 Answer
- gardengallivantLv 77 years agoFavorite Answer
Mitochondrial genomes are possible to reliably isolate for sequencing.
All species have mitochondria but no other chromosome is reliably conserved with synteny (gene loci order and presence on the same chromosome) across species. Before mitochondria could be isolated and sequenced molecular phylogeny relied on the few known nuclear genes common to all cells. But this required isolation of whole genomes since the genes were on different chromosomes in different species. Mitochondria offer more conserved points of comparison in small units.
Mitochondria have reduced genomes with very conserved sequences. They will accumulate mutations over time, assuming a constant rate of mutation, so they provide a molecular clock for dating phylogenetic divergence by comparing homologous sequence differences.
