Mitochondrial DNA together with the assessment of their pathogenicity. Mitochondrial DNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA is only a small portion of the DNA in a eukaryotic cell; most of the DNA can be found in the cell nucleus and, in plants and algae, also in plastids such as chloroplasts. In humans, the 16,569 base pairs of mitochondrial DNA encode for only 37 genes. Human mitochondrial DNA was the first significant part of
DNA damage (naturally occurring) extent of pyrimidine dimerization (which is indicative of DNA damage) was assessed using sensitive primer extension techniques. It was found that the removal of DNA photolesions was much less efficient in rad9 mutant cells than normal cells, providing evidence that RAD9 is involved in DNA repair. Thus, the role of RAD9 in repairing DNA damage remains unclear. Regardless, it is clear that RAD9 is necessary to sense DNA damage and halt cell division. RAD9 has been suggested to possess 3’ to 5’ exonuclease activity, which is perhaps why it plays a role in detecting DNA damage. When DNA is damaged,