Human mitochondrial DNA haplogroup

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Mitochondria are the primary energy generator of the cell and have unique organelles that maintain their own DNA (mtDNA). In human genetics, human mitochondrial DNA haplogroups are collections of similar haplotypes defined by combinations of single nuclear polymorphism (SNPs) in mtDNA inherited from a common ancestor. Mitochondrial DNA is passed down through cytoplasmic inheritance, where, upon fertilization, the paternal mitochondria are degraded, leaving only the maternal mitochondria regardless of the offspring’s sex. This characteristic of mitochondrial inheritance allows geneticists to track the movement and divergence of different haplogroups from female lineages. Haplogroups are used to represent the major branch points on the mitochondrial phylogenetic tree. Understanding this mechanism of inheritance has helped population geneticists trace the matrilineal inheritance of modern humans back to human origins in Africa and the subsequent spread around the globe. The letter names of...

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