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Genetics

Mitochondrial DNA in evolution and disease

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Cellular organelles called mitochondria contain their own DNA. The discovery that variation in mitochondrial DNA alters physiology and lifespan in mice has implications for evolutionary biology and the origins of disease. See Letter p.561

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Figure 1: Mitochondria as the central environmental sensor.

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References

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Correspondence to Douglas C. Wallace.

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Wallace, D. Mitochondrial DNA in evolution and disease. Nature 535, 498–500 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature18902

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