Mitochondrial DNA 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 the human genome to be sequenced. In
Cell-free fetal DNA pregnancies complicated by preeclampsia have significantly higher levels of cffDNA that those in normal pregnancies. This holds true for early onset preeclampsia. New generation sequencing may be used to yield a whole genome sequence from cffDNA. This raises ethical questions. However, the utility of the procedure may increase as clear associations between specific genetic variants and disease states are discovered. Cell-free fetal DNA Cell-free fetal DNA (cffDNA) is fetal DNA which circulates freely in the maternal blood. Maternal blood is sampled by venipuncture. Analysis of cffDNA is a method of non-invasive prenatal diagnosis frequently ordered for pregnant women of advanced