Dahyun week8

From Biolecture.org

The genes you don't get from your parents (but can't live without) 
 

In all multicellular organisms, including animals, plants, and fungi, aside from the chromosomes that are inherited from each parent to form pairs, there are genes in the mitochondria. Long ago, a single-celled organism engulfed the ancestor of mitochondria and they began to coexist. Mitochondria convert the energy and oxygen obtained from food into ATP within the cell. Except for red blood cells, all cells contain ATP. Red blood cells do not have mitochondria because their role is to transport oxygen, and using up oxygen within red blood cells would be counterproductive.

Mitochondria use oxygen to metabolize, so organisms living in environments with low oxygen levels go through a process where mitochondria disappear.

During conception, mitochondria are inherited from only one parent, typically from the mother. Although sperm contain mitochondria in their tails, these mitochondria disintegrate along with the tail during fertilization. However, genes that create and regulate mitochondria come from both parents.

Mitochondria undergo a separate replication process and are incorporated into new cells during cell division.

ref: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0obYR-nf45I