Probability of Mitochondrial DNA heteroplasmy in different tissues from European populations

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) heteroplasmy complicates genetic analyses due to its variability across individuals and tissues. We analyzed over 400 Spanish blood samples and integrated published Massively Parallel Sequencing (MPS) data from ten additional European tissues. Heteroplasmy was tissue-specif...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Cuesta-Aguirre, Daniel R.|||0000-0001-7483-8541, Onieva, Ana|||0000-0002-5098-543X, Aluja, Maria Pilar|||0000-0002-0407-9356, Santos, Cristina|||0000-0002-7014-8014
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2026
País:España
Institución:Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ddd.uab.cat:326493
Acceso en línea:https://ddd.uab.cat/record/326493
https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.1016/j.mito.2026.102117
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Heteroplasmic profile
Heteroplasmy
Massively Parallel Sequencing (MPS)
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA)
Point heteroplasmy
Descripción
Sumario:Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) heteroplasmy complicates genetic analyses due to its variability across individuals and tissues. We analyzed over 400 Spanish blood samples and integrated published Massively Parallel Sequencing (MPS) data from ten additional European tissues. Heteroplasmy was tissue-specific, with skeletal muscle, kidney, and liver showing the highest levels, while the intestines, skin, and cerebellum had the lowest. Blood uniquely displayed more heteroplasmies in coding than non-coding regions. Several conserved positions not previously described as hotspots showed high frequencies. These results establish the first comprehensive tissue-specific heteroplasmic profile of the complete mitochondrial genome in a European population, improving the interpretation of mtDNA variation in forensic and biomedical contexts.