What role do mitochondria play in embryo development?

Image Source

"Embryos require adequate amounts of energy so that they can successfully progress through each of their cell divisions.

Mitochondria have a key function during early development, as they are the main energy providers of embryos. They are also involved in the regulation of other key cellular processes, such as apoptosis, amino acid and protein synthesis.

Up until now, why has little been known about the biological and clinical implications of mitochondrial variation between embryos prior to implantation?

Until recently the technical tools necessary for such studies were not available. The development of methods such as next generation sequencing (NGS) have made the detailed analysis (quantity and sequence) of the mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) of human embryos possible..."

Read More >>