Mitochondria

[JOEYSHABADO]

Sorry-homework question.
What is mitochondria and how does analyzing it help scientists?

[Hamish]

The mitrochondria is part of a cell which I believe has rolls in energy production. Try searching on the web you much more likely to come up with something more pictorical and extensive than could be provided here

[Sequin]

It also contains DNA which is only inherited from the maternal line, making it very useful in genetic studies and historical analysis of evolutionary links

[Lillabet]

Mitochondria is actually a part of the DNA chain in a cell. It seems to be the part that tells the cell what type of cell it is - is it a skin cell, a part of your lung etc etc.

It is also the part which switches on replication and tells the cell to copy itself. Genetic diseases in the main involve cells going wrong and then copying that error.

This includes diseases such as Diabetes, Huntingdon's and some forms of cancer where there is evidence of genetic links - breast cancer being one.

If scientists can discover how mitochondria works then it could help them discover  1, how to switch off faulty cells and halt the spread of a disease through the body. & 2, Change the messages that the mitochondria send so as to make the body replicate healthy cells to replaced diseased or damaged ones.

Hope this helps

[JohnDTC]

i did a biology degree & I'm not sure about the last answer given. i think there may be some confusion with another issue. the primary role of mitochondria is to facilitate respiration & the production of ATP via the kreb's cycle & electron transfer system. they are small sausage/round shaped double membrane bound organelles found in eukaryotic cells, &have finger like cristae pointing inwards. they have their own DNA & use their own 70s ribosomes. They are NOT coded for in the DNA of the cell, but instead self-replicate -almost like a separate organism.

without mitochondria it would be possible for eukaryotes (animals, plants, fungi etc.) to produce just a net gain of 2 ATP molecules per glucose molecule by glycolysis, however, mitochondria increase that to a gain to 38 ATP per glucose molecule -greatly increasing the energy liberated & allowing for more active cells. the two processes that take place in the mitochondria are the kreb'scycle & electron transfer system.

as previously said the mitochondria are passed down the maternal line, & this makes them useful for population/heritage studies. also the predictable rate of mutation in mitochondria can act as kind of a biological clock -these properties have been used to discover population trends such as near extinctions/ population bottlenecks in history.

as an added note it is also thought that mitochondria are symbiotic organisms & were originally seprate from eukaryotic cells, &that at some point in eukaryotic evolution they were taken up as this benefited both organisms -the eukaryote as it provided vastly more energy & -the mitochondria as it provided greater safety/& a regular supply of glucose. the same is thought for other organells such as chloroplasts in plants.

[kick3m0n]

As a fellow Biology graduate I'd say, go with Johns answer Joey.  He's definitely right.   Lillabet is mixing mitochondria with something else I think, tho not sure what.......

[minime]

Yup, check somewhere else I think is the best advice to you!  Try britannica or something.  Mitochondria is the energy factory in the cell.  Basically, they're rod shaped.  They're the principal site for ATP synthesis.  They contain DNA, RNA and ribosomes. They self replicate and can produce some enzymes themselves.  I'm only aware of this stuff cos I'm doing a degree, but seriously I would use a scientific site for this kind of information.  Pictures can really help if you don't know your way round cell organelles. Scientists just analyse everything because knowledge is power? lol. It's just impotant to know how everything works so that biotechnology can advance I suppose - weird question!?  Good luck!  p.s. Stay away from the Kreb cycle if you can...it'll seriously do your head in!!  I don't know how scientific you need to be for your homework so the stuff John wrote may be a bit heavy, he's right, but it's a lot to take in.