The other approach analyzes mitochondrial DNA, or mtDNA. Because mtDNA tends to survive ... Every mitochondrion includes an identical loop of DNA about 16,000 base pairs long.

where they interact with specific sequences in the D-loop, the only non-coding region of the mtDNA genome. mtDNA replication ceases prior to fertilization of the oocyte and is not re-initiated ...

Damage to the genetic material of mitochondria—the mitochondrial DNA or mtDNA for short—can lead to diseases such as ...