Selective Transmission of Mitochondrial DNA Occurs in Individual Flies

Abstract

We previously described temperature-dependent selective transmission of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in heteroplasmic Drosophila melanogaster; artificially introduced foreign mtDNA derived from D. mauritiana was selectively transmitted to the next generation at 25°C. In the present study, we investigated whether selective transmission occurred in individual flies using sensitive ARMS-qPCR assay. The results showed the validity of the assay in detecting a heteroplasmic state and confirmed the temperature-dependent selective transmission of mtDNA in individual flies.