What is Mitochondrial DNA?
'''Mitochondrial DNA''' ('''mtDNA''' or '''mDNA''') is the [[DNA]] in [[mitochondria]].<ref>Reference books tend to prefer mtDNA as the abbreviation: Klug W.S. ''et al'' 2012. ''Concepts of genetics''. 10th ed, Pearson, p228. {{ISBN|978-0-321-79578-6}}; King R.C. ''et al'' 2006. ''A dictionary of genetics''. 7th ed, Oxford University Press, p280. {{ISBN|0-19-530761-5}}</ref> It is inherited only from mothers, though there are a few rare exceptions. [[Mitochondria]] are cellular [[organelles]] in [[eukaryotic]] cells. They convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, [[adenosine triphosphate]] ([[ATP]]). Mitochondrial DNA is only a small part of the DNA in a eukaryotic cell. Most of the DNA is in the [[cell nucleus]] on [[chromosomes]]. In [[plants]], the [[chloroplasts]] have DNA as well. In [[humans]], mitochondrial DNA codes for 37 [[genes]] and with about 16,600 [[base pairs]] in a circle. Human mitochondrial DNA was the first significant part of the [[human genome]] to be sequenced. The mtDNA in plants is much larger: ''[[Arabidopsis]]'' has 367 [[kilobyte]]s. == References == {{reflist}} {{biology-stub}} [[Category:DNA]] [[Category:Organelles]]