Every mitochondrion within a single cell contains identical DNA

Ryall C, Chinnery PF, van den Ameele J. Common Principles Underlie Mitochondrial DNA Heteroplasmy Dynamics in the Germline and Soma.. 2026. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-genom-120324-032239

Defines heteroplasmy directly as the mixture of mutant and wild-type mitochondrial DNA within each cell, directly refuting the claim that all mitochondria contain identical DNA.

Hsieh YH, Kautz P, Nitsch L, Giguelay AM, Liebold J, Dimitrova V, Contreras Castillo S, Jungen F, Zsurka G, Trombly G, Schuelke M, Kunz WS, Lareau CA, Ludwig LS. Single-cell multi-omic analysis of mitochondrial mutational mosaicism and dynamics.. 2026. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-70399-y

Shows that individual cells exhibit complex mutational landscapes and somatic mosaicism regarding mitochondrial DNA.

Siragusa SL, Blando S, Fiorini C, Pasti AP, Ormanbekova D, Casadei F, Morandi L, Pegoraro E, Liguori R, Carelli V, La Morgia C, Caporali L, Valentino ML. Expanding the landscape of tRNA pathogenic variants in mitochondrial DNA.. 2026. https://doi.org/10.1093/braincomms/fcag178

Quantifies heteroplasmy at the single-fibre level, confirming the coexistence of different mitochondrial genomes within individual cells.

Burr SP, Auckland K, Glynos A, Dhawanjewar A, Ryall C, Wei W, Hynes-Allen A, Prater M, Sczaniecka-Clift M, Prudent J, Chinnery PF, van den Ameele J. MitoPerturb-Seq identifies gene-specific single-cell responses to mitochondrial DNA depletion and heteroplasmy.. 2026. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41594-026-01779-7

Discusses heteroplasmy and the presence of multiple different mitochondrial DNA variants within individual cells under strict nuclear control.