Question

mitochondrial dna can be taken from bone, hair, or teeth and used in dna typing. what are the benefits to using mitochondrial dna over nuclear dna? check all that apply.
☐ mtdna requires a much smaller sample than nuclear dna.
☐ mtdna is useful if the nuclear dna is degraded.
☐ mtdna is inherited from the mother and father’s egg cells, unlike nuclear dna.
☐ mtdna is present in all maternal relatives of the person being investigated.
done

Explanation:

• mtDNA requires a smaller sample: True, as mtDNA is more abundant per cell (many mitochondria) so less sample is needed.
• mtDNA useful if nuclear DNA degraded: True, mtDNA is more stable and can be analyzed when nuclear DNA is damaged.
• mtDNA inherited from mother only (not father’s egg cells): False, mtDNA is maternal inheritance.
• mtDNA in all maternal relatives: True, as it's passed from mother to offspring, so maternal relatives share it.

Answer:

• $\boldsymbol{\text{mtDNA requires a much smaller sample than nuclear DNA.}}$
• $\boldsymbol{\text{mtDNA is useful if the nuclear DNA is degraded.}}$
• $\boldsymbol{\text{mtDNA is present in all maternal relatives of the person being investigated.}}$