mitochondrial DNA

British

noun

mtDNA. DNA found in mitochondria, which contains some structural genes and is generally inherited only through the female line

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

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By tracing mitochondrial DNA, which is only passed on by women, Dr Cassidy found that most women in the community were related by blood dating back generations.

From BBC • Jan. 15, 2025

One study combines genetic analyses of older museum specimens' mitochondrial DNA with fresher genetic samples from recent field collections of mud snakes to learn more about diversity of homalopsids, including rice paddy snakes.

From Science Daily • Mar. 12, 2024

The mitochondrial DNA from the victim was entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 1, 2024

A study from the University of Southern California and Texas A&M University revealed in 2007 that 45 percent of the bison they sampled contained domestic cattle mitochondrial DNA.

From National Geographic • Jan. 18, 2024

In the late 1970s several scientists realized that an ethnic group’s mitochondrial DNA could provide clues to its ancestry.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023