You inherited chromosomes from Mom.
Your mtDNA (mitochondrial DNA) is 100-percent maternally inherited chromosomes, passed down through the “powerhouse” of the cell. These are the genes that are passed down from mom, through her mitochondria. The health – or mutations – of these genes are a result of the environment mom’s mitochondria faced over her lifetime (and her grandmother’s lifetime, and her great-grandmother’s, and so on).
In PART 1, we learned that humans have two genomes. That’s two distinct places where we inherit chromosomes. While most DNA is packaged in chromosomes in the nucleus (46 chromosomes, 23 from Mom and 23 from Dad), we now know that mitochondria also have their own DNA, which is passed down from Mom.
Let’s take a Squint.
Mitochondrial DNA: Tracing Our Maternal Lineage
As we know from 23&Me, mtDNA is now a powerful tool for tracing the history of maternal lines because of the way it is inherited. Everyone has mtDNA, but only mothers pass it down to their children. So, you inherited a copy of your mother’s mtDNA, who inherited it from her mother, who inherited it from hers, and so on through the generations along an unbroken line of women.
In fact, we all descend from a long line of women that can be traced back to eastern Africa over 150,000 years ago. As our ancestors ventured out of east Africa, they branched off into diverse groups that crossed and recrossed the globe over tens of thousands of years. As part of your 23&Me you discovered your “maternal haplotype”—i.e., the migration of your maternal line.
By sequencing the mtDNA from Indigenous populations, researchers found that mtDNA variation correlates with the geographic origins of the population. This allowed for the reconstruction of the origin of people and ancient migrations of women. By tracking our mitochondrial DNA, we could best lay out our cellular story, about how we migrated, adapted and thrived. Our mtDNA was the storyteller and the story was about mom and how she adapted. By tracking her moves out of Africa, researchers could see how she responded (at a cellular level) to newer, much colder, environments.
Mom (and her genome): Always on Top of Everything!
It’s not a surprise that researchers would use mom to get all the facts. Moms are always on top of everything and our migration from Africa was no exception! The fact is, it was cold and changes needed to be made to our mitochondria (our heat and energy management system). The good – and not at all surprising news?? The moms were on top of it!! (of course, as always!)
As she changed locations, mom’s mitochondria changed too, in order to thrive in new, colder surroundings with much less UV light. Fortunately, it was the DNA in her mitochondrial powerhouse that helped her adapt and change to new environments. It’s just like a mom to be prepared and ready for anything! Her mitochondrial DNA helped her adapt, based on the variations she found in her new environment, and copies of that DNA were passed down and stacked up over time, informing her children how to best survive their environment and use energy most efficiently. In fact, we inherit the success (and failure) of how our mitochondrial DNA respond to their current environments. Moms pass down their history of how successfully they respond to the new (light and cold) environments they face. Moms pass down those genes to us, that determine how we deal on an energetic level – that determine the energy flux in our tissues. These genes are a huge deal and determine whether you will have the energy to thrive or get sick with disease.
Mom Today: Navigating a New Globe
Today, our modern environments are presenting a whole new host of challenges for mom. Our modern environments are changing rapidly and having major impacts on the light and toxins our bodies experience. As a result, our mitochondria are working harder and our powerhouses are being forced to adapt to an ever-more toxic environment that is completely out of circadian rhythm.
Modern life is putting our mitochondria to the greatest test we’ve ever faced.
Our modern life is making our original move from Africa to Norway look like an easy journey. Modern life with our modern “choices” (iPhones, iPads, glyphosate, Apple watches, earbuds, fast food, bluetooth, fluoridated water) are putting our mitochondria to the test. We are making it harder and harder for our cells to produce energy to function and disease is becoming a reality at younger and younger ages. Our children are inheriting sub-optimal mitochondria from our sub-optimal modern environments of “optimal” convenience. Today, mitochondrial mutations are stacking up, as technology booms and chronic disease explodes.
Chronic Illness and Disease
Today, more than 100 million people suffer from chronic illnesses, and many of us don’t feel our best. Why are so many people getting sick and mentioning how many things “run in their family”?
Who are all these families and why are their genes turning against them? We seem to be inheriting sickness at an alarming rate, and our children are getting sick at younger and younger ages. Could we be passing down weaker and weaker mitochondrial genes every generation? We’re hardly giving our children a “Healthy Start.” Autism, allergies, IBD, MS, diabetes and obesity are affecting younger and younger populations.
What’s going on?!!
Could we be blaming the wrong genome?