Can anybody suggest good material for mitochondrial research?

I must admit, I do know biology...but am only adept in certain fields...and genetics arent exactly one of them...but these intrigue me enough to study them as a solo project for a while.The fact that they seem to carry their own DNA, and not that of the rest of the cell is fascinating...and that they are only passed down from the female egg...sperm, or the male genes that fertilized the egg have no effect at all on mitochondria.This raises several questions for me...Does the fact that NEW mitochondria is not developed through fertilization cause them to develop mutations more slowly?This would mean to me now that they would likely be one of the more "primitive" features of the cell since logic would dictate to me that it doesnt evolve or change as much as the rest of the cell (which is interesting, because that would mean it is theoretically possible to use mitochondria as a rather useful tool in tracing back species more easily once better DNA extraction methods on fossils are discovered)...or if it does...it does it by some other means than sexual reproduction.What is special about them? Since it is believed that the single parts of the individual human cell are actually composed of what was originally several different bacteria gathering together to survive...one being what is now the nuclues...etc.I know what its function is...or rather...what THEIR function is, but knowing that alone doesnt answer my questions.Does anybody know of a good source to start with on this subject? My college textbooks I have only briefly mention them...and dont flesh out the subject enough to answer my questions.

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Try the Book "Evolution - A Scientific American Reader"The University of Chicago Press (The University of Chicago Press.)

Sounds good, got a copy ordered from Barnes and Noble. I dont suppose I can flesh out any mitochondrial discussion until I read up better on them, but an interesting topic nonetheless.Any other ideas for research would be great, but I'll start with this one.Edited by Franatic25, : No reason given.

Pick up a copy of The Seven Daughters of Eve, by Bryan Sykes. It's quite interesting and relevant to your pursuit.”HM

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and that they are only passed down from the female egg...sperm, or the male genes that fertilized the egg have no effect at all on mitochondria.

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This actually depends on the species.

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Does the fact that NEW mitochondria is not developed through fertilization cause them to develop mutations more slowly?

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The mitochondria can have a very high rate of mutations due to the nasty chemicals it has to work with (oxygen and others). Purifying selection seems to weed out any deleterious mutations that affect essential functions, but neutral mutations are common.

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This would mean to me now that they would likely be one of the more "primitive" features of the cell since logic would dictate to me that it doesnt evolve or change as much as the rest of the cell.

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According to the endosymbiotic theory the development of mitochondira in eukaryotic cells is due to symbiosis between bacteria and eukaryotes. I don't think "primitive" is the correct word for mitochondria, and the idea that mitochondria does not evolve is wrong. In fact many genes have been lost from the mitochondria and inserted into the nuclear genome. Evolution does not require sexual reproduction. Evolution requires mutation, and mutations can occur in mitochondrial DNA just as it does in genomic DNA.

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that would mean it is theoretically possible to use mitochondria as a rather useful tool in tracing back species more easily once better DNA extraction methods on fossils are discovered

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You were already beaten to the punch, and you don't need past fossils to compare mitochondrial genomes. All you need to do is use mitochondrial genomes that are already present.

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What is special about them? Since it is believed that the single parts of the individual human cell are actually composed of what was originally several different bacteria gathering together to survive...one being what is now the nuclues (it is nuclei ~mobioevo)...etc.

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I don't understand what you mean about "special" but without the mitochondria the eukaryotic cell would only be able to go through glycolisis and not have the Kreb's cycle and not have an electron transport chain to produce a lot of ATP. No ATP and many eukaryotic cells would die after a period of time. The evidence for the mitochondria and chloroplast to form from an endosymbiotic event has fairly strong evidence, but the idea that the cell is a congregation of bacterial cells that make up the cellular components such as the nucleus, ER, and Golgi is still debatable. There is strong evidence that those structures are formed by cellular membrane inclusions within the cell. In this way you could say mitochondria is special because of its unique development.

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I must admit, I do know biology...but am only adept in certain fields...and genetics arent exactly one of them

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I'm curious to what your field is. Is it biochemistry, ecology, or some other biological discipline? I study molecular evolution and other areas of biology sometimes stump me and it would be nice to have someone to throw questions to.

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Does anybody know of a good source to start with on this subject?

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I would start with The Cell. An older edition is just as good.To get more understanding of evolution this book is the best
Evolutonary Analysis 2nd editionLater I will post an interesting paper on mutations in mitochondria and the creation of cheaters. It is in my office right now so I forget the title.Happy investigations.Edited by mobioevo, : No reason given.Edited by mobioevo, : typo

Since I started this thread I have done lots of research into this field, and just about everything you said is something I have learned on my own since I wrote it. It's an interesting subject...and raises even more questions for me (but that is better suited for other threads). Ive said before Im not too adept at genetic mutations or evolution other than what Ive read in the few books I have read (and before this thread, that wasnt too many).My biology studies since childhood and college where more along the lines on taxonomy (which after a few classes definitely led me more and more towards evolution despite the fact that the classes I took never mentioned it). Genetics I only got into when I started breeding boa constrictors...which led me to study subspeciation.Im still learning, and Ive said in previous threads that my ideas on evolution would very likely change quickly since I only had a general understanding of it...and thanks to these forums and books that were proposed for me to read actually helped me to realize further exactly what taxonomy would truly mean in the long run (once again another thread).But it has raised another question for me...it would seem since the "power" for cells provided my mitochondria fuels the body...I would think they are one of the biggest reasons we are able to have VERY large multicellular creatures.And to answer another posed question...with the exception of mitochondria in reference to fossil records...I was speaking only of human mitochondria. And from the information Ive gathered in the past couple of weeks raises even more questions that I would likely attempt to start a new thread with because I feel it just might be applicable to the EVC debate. But like I said, not for this thread.And once again, if anything I just posted is still off, I would appreciate any replies to help further my understanding of this aspect of the cell.Edited by Franatic25, : typo

Side note...I would like to thank the posters who led me to a couple very helpful books on the subject when I started this thread. You guys have been very helpful.

Wow, I never expected you to say you breed boa constrictors. That is very cool.If you are interested in evolution definitely check out Evolutionary Analysis. It is possibly the best textbook written on evolutionary biology. The 2nd edition of the book is very cheap. you can find a copy for under $20 if it is not available at your library.After you get a feel for evolutionary theory, further you studies into molecular evolution, which would help you on your interest in mitochondria genomes. I would suggest Fundamental of Molecular Evolution by Dan Graur and Wen-Hsiung Li. It is a very heavy book but is a great because it covers most of the field.Edited by mobioevo, : clarification

I appreciate the input, and will check out those books really soon.

Conflicting levels of selection in the accumulation of mitochondrial defects in Saccharomyces cerevisiaeAbove is a link to a really interesting paper on different levels of selection due to damaged mitochondria in yeast.

The best part about mitochodrial DNA is that it is maternal, as you know, and does not replicate sexually. Asexual replication allows for better resolution and consistency when looking at mutation rates allowing development of more accurate timelines for speciation events. When a statistical anaysis of mutations is done one can estimate how long ago two or more extant species diverged.