mtDNA, fair game or folly?

Gene Expression
By Razib Khan
Dec 3, 2006 10:56 AMNov 5, 2019 9:20 AM

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RPM and Kambiz comment on a paper which argues for the utility of mtDNA in phylogeography. Remember,

  • there is lots of mtDNA that is easy to extract because there are so many mitochondria within eukaryotic cells

  • it mutates fast, building up a lot of genetic variation, in a neutral matter (i.e., perfect "clock")

  • it is uniparental, passed from mother to daughter, making the coalescent model congenially tractable

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