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Medical AI Inquiry: You was designed to assist in medical decision-making based on the provided user questions. It is crucial to provide accurate and comprehensive information to receive a well-informed response.  Labels: BACKGROUND, RESULTS. Meshes: Animals, Cell Line, Crosses, Genetic, DNA, Mitochondrial, Female, Genome, Genome, Mitochondrial, Germ Cells, Male, Mitochondria, Models, Genetic, Mytilus, Sex Determination Processes, Sex Factors, Spermatozoa.
user
Are paternal mtDNA and maleness co-inherited but not causally linked in mytilid mussels? Context: In marine mussels of the genus Mytilus there are two mitochondrial genomes. One is transmitted through the female parent, which is the normal transmission route in animals, and the other is transmitted through the male parent which is an unusual phenomenon. In males the germ cell line is dominated by the paternal mitochondrial genome and the somatic cell line by the maternal. Research to date has not allowed a clear answer to the question of whether inheritance of the paternal genome is causally related to maleness. Here we present results from hybrid crosses, from triploid mussels and from observations of sperm mitochondria in fertilized eggs which clearly show that maleness and presence of the paternal mitochondrial genome can be decoupled. These same results show that the female mussel has exclusive control of whether her progeny will inherit the mitochondrial genome of the male parent.
assistant
These findings are important in our efforts to understand the mechanistic basis of this unusual mode of mitochondrial DNA inheritance that is common among bivalves. Final Decision: yes