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Medical Definition of Mitochondrial chromosome
1. The DNA component of mitochondria, the chief function of which is synthesis of adenosine triphosphate and the management of cellular energy; the chromosome contains some 16,000 base pairs arranged in a circle. The inheritance is matrilineal, and the mutation rate is unusually high; since each cell contains thousands of copies a mutant form may assume an almost continuous gradation as in a galtonian process. Most of the mutations known have their impact on the respiratory chain. (05 Mar 2000)