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Originally Posted by WillyPete
Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't the DNA to create mitochondria reside within each human? I mean, everything we are comes from the sharing of two sets of DNA. Right?
It's not like wa all have to have a mitochondrial DNA injction at birth.
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Prior to birth, actually. All your mitochonrdia are descended from the original population present in the ovum that was fertilized (sperm do not generally carry any mitochondria) and eventually grew into you.
Mitochondria do indeed have their own DNA, seperate from the DNA present in the nucleus that deals with the rest of the cell. They pretty much go about their own lives within the specialized environment of the cytoplasm. Much the same can be said of chloroplasts.