The first time I encountered the word mitochondria was in A Wrinkle in Time, the first in a children’s science fiction trilogy by Madeleine L’Engle. Often called the “powerhouses of the cell,” in the book, Charles Wallace’s mitochondria are dying. To save him from a deadly disease, other characters travel inside one of his mitochondria. Talk about introducing kids to biology!
Deoxyribonucleic acid (abbreviated DNA) is the molecule in a cell that carries genetic information for an organism. Known as a double helix, it’s made of two linked strands that wind around each other, reminding you of a twisted ladder.
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA in mitochondria, the “powerhouses” of a cell. With rare exceptions, it’s inherited only from mothers. It can be used to track your ancestry way, way, way back through your mother’s lineage.
The human mitochondrial genome is the entirety of hereditary information contained in human mitochondria. Unlike nuclear DNA, mtDNA does not undergo meiosis and does not participate in genetic recombination events. It remains stable over generations.
Probably an article in Discover magazine was the first time I’d heard about mtDNA. It was the story about a woman who claimed to be the missing Romanov daughter.
The Missing Romanov
Tsar Nicholas II of Russia abdicated the throne during the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. The family was placed under house arrest, then executed them in 1918. Russia’s last imperial dynasty. The Tsar, Empress Alexandria, their four daughters and one son were all believed to have perished.
Two women claimed for decades they were Anastasia, the youngest Romanov daughter. One of them was Anna Anderson who surfaced in Berlin a few years after the execution, vowing that a Bolshevik soldier had helped her survive.
Anderson’s story was made into a 1956 movie starring Ingrid Bergman. Until her death in 1984, she was considered the missing Tsarina. But when Anderson had surgery in the late 1970s, the hospital kept a tissue sample.
When the mass grave of the Romanovs was discovered in the early 1990s, the hospital gave researchers the tissue sample. The mtDNA test proved Anderson was a fraud. She was not a Romanov. Instead, her DNA matched with the Schanzkowska family. Anderson was really Franziska Schanzkowska of Poland.
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency
Each branch of the military maintains Casualty and Mortuary Affairs Offices. A family member of a missing person may submit DNA for use in comparison for identification purposes if they share a maternal or paternal relationship. Nuclear DNA as well as mtDNA are useful, but it gets trickier.
All persons of the same maternal line have the same mtDNA sequences. All males of the same paternal line have the same Y-STR profiles. And additional profiles from mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters can be used as well. These family reference samples are continually collected by the casualty and mortuary offices.
Dale R. Wilson and the rest of his B-25 crew, lost off New Guinea in 1943, are still missing. DNA samples from the relatives of these airmen could be useful in identifying them, if they are ever discovered.
My Motherline
I’ve been thinking about mtDNA as part of my motherline project, of pondering what we inherit from our ancestors. I’m focusing on those in a direct line of women.
You might consider your own father- or motherline. What did you inherit besides genetics?
Interesting! I especially like the verse you include with the opening photo.
Thank you, Dennis. I’ve found several related verses, at least one for each chapter of my WIP.
I am continually on the DPAA site to jot down the latest person identified and brought home. DNA has made a remarkable difference in the accounting dept.
It sure has, GP. I watch their postings on Instagram.
Sorry, I couldn’t get into the 11th A/B on facebook. Thanks for thinking of me.
Fascinating! I love the generation picture at the top. You are lucky to have them.
Thank you, Darlene. I didn’t realize how blessed I was to grow up among them!
Love this, Joy. Biology, family, detective work – all rolled into one. Your question is a big one. Inherited traits and connections to the past are intriguing and I can’t wait to learn more about your “motherline” project. 💕💕💕
Oh, bless you, Vicki! I keep discovering fascinating tidbits, so I need to decide what stays and what doesn’t.
Ohhh…please share and include as much as you can. Hugs, hugs, hugs! 🥰
The revelations revealed when researching heredity and genes are mind-blowing. Your “motherline” project must be a labor of love for you. Good luck, Joy! 🙂
Thank you, Nancy. Yes, it’s seven generations (counting the Memory Keeper at the end) and I was surprised at the delightful tidbits I learned about the earliest two or three generations. Then the pondering began.
Ha, ha! That curious brain of yours! 🙂
Other than DNA, I know I got education, wisdom, care, love and creativity — things that can’t be encoded in chemicals.
Thanks, Andrew! That’s what I’m discovering as well!
I remember watching a documentary about how DNA exposed the frauduent Anastasia!
I’ll bet it’s available online, huh! Thanks, Liz! I found one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RU6ujRQI29U
You’re welcome, Joy!
So very fascinating!
Isn’t it though? Thanks, Kelly.
Fascinating, Joy. That picture is marvelous.
Thank you, Tim!
I love your photo, Joy, and this is truly fascinating! 💞
Thank you, Lauren!