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I was always thinking that the mitochondrial genomes are very stable, but now I am reading that they have an unusually high rate of mutation, which may contribute to many of the medical problems of old age.
So which is true maybe it's that mitochondria are passed down from mother to child, and that female germline cells go through a minimum of divisions and are metabolically inert, thus the mitochondria that are passed down the generation ARE stable? And they thus CAN have a high mutation rate..
So which is true maybe it's that mitochondria are passed down from mother to child, and that female germline cells go through a minimum of divisions and are metabolically inert, thus the mitochondria that are passed down the generation ARE stable? And they thus CAN have a high mutation rate..