A woman
carries a pathogenic mutation in her mitochondrial DNA , creating a high
risk of transmitting mitochondrial disease to her children. She and her partner
want a child that:

inherits their nuclear
DNA , but
does not inherit the
mother’s mutated mitochondria .

A
clinician proposes mitochondrial replacement therapy to achieve this
outcome.

Which
procedure would best meet the couple’s goal?

Question

A woman
carries a  pathogenic mutation in her mitochondrial DNA , creating a high
risk of transmitting mitochondrial disease to her children. She and her partner
want a child that:

inherits  their nuclear
     DNA , but 
  does not inherit the
     mother’s mutated mitochondria .

A
clinician proposes  mitochondrial replacement therapy  to achieve this
outcome.

Which
procedure would best meet the couple’s goal?

Accepted Answer

Transfer
the nucleus from the parents’ fertilised egg into a donor egg that contains
healthy mitochondria but has had its nucleus removed

Answer

Transfer
of mitochondria from the father’s sperm into the mother’s egg to replace the
mother’s mitochondria

Answer

Use
mitochondrial editing to repair the mother’s mitochondrial DNA, prior to
fertilisation of the egg

Answer

Use
gene editing to repair the mitochondrial DNA mutation inside the embryo

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A woman carries a pathogenic mutation in her mitochondrial DNA , creating a hi...

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