You may know that our cell nuclei contain genomic DNA – parts of it possess the codes (genes) that determine all the traits. We obtain this from our parents through some combination.
Enter mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). It is not your usual type. First, it lies inside mitochondria and not the cell nucleus. Second, it is inherited from the mother alone; fathers do not contribute. Third, it does not recombine. What is so special about this? Well, mtDNA has become the tracer molecule to study relationships between one individual to another.
The absence of recombination and bi-parenting inheritance made these molecules scientists’ pet for tracing the maternal ancestry of human beings. And they traced back thousands and thousands of years and ended up at a single mother who lived ca. 200,000 in Africa. She is called the Mitochondrial Eve. She was not the first human but became the meeting point (common ancestor) when human mtDNAs were all traced back.
