UPSC Prelims 2021·GS1·science-and-technology·ipr and biotechnology

In the context of hereditary diseases, consider the following statements : 1. Passing on mitochondrial diseases from parent to child can be prevented by mitochondrial replacement therapy either before or after in vitro fertilization of egg. 2. A child inherits mitochondrial diseases entirely from mother and not from father. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

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Last updated 23 May 2026, 3:31 pm IST
  1. A1 only
  2. B2 only
  3. CBoth 1 and 2Correct
  4. DNeither 1 nor 2

Explanation

Statement 1 is correct: Mitochondrial replacement therapy (MRT) is a set of techniques aimed at preventing the transmission of mitochondrial diseases from a mother to her child. These techniques involve replacing a mother's unhealthy mitochondria with healthy ones from a donor egg. This can be performed either before (e.g., maternal spindle transfer) or after (e.g., pronuclear transfer) in vitro fertilization (IVF) of the egg, or even at the embryo stage. Statement 2 is correct: Mitochondria are organelles within cells that contain their own DNA (mtDNA), separate from the nuclear DNA. During human reproduction, the egg cell contributes the vast majority, if not all, of the mitochondria to the zygote. Sperm cells contribute very few, if any, functional mitochondria to the embryo. Therefore, a child inherits mitochondrial diseases exclusively from the mother, not from the father.
science-and-technology: In the context of hereditary diseases, consider the following statements : 1. Passing on mitochondrial diseases from par

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