PhD Studentship: Probing How and Why Mitochondrial DNA is Inherited From Only One Parent

A studentship funded by the Midland BBSRC-DTP programme available to study mitochondrial DNA inheritance at the University of Birmingham (Both home and international students can apply).

Project Outline

Inside our cells, DNA resides in two places – the nucleus and the mitochondrion. The nuclear DNA encodes the organism’s blueprint, while mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mainly encodes proteins required for energy production. Unlike nuclear DNA, which is derived half from each parent when an egg is fertilised by a sperm, mtDNA is inherited solely from the mother, through the egg. In various species including humans, a fascinating phenomenon occurs during sperm development, where paternal mtDNA is eliminated to ensure only maternal mtDNA is passed on. However, how and why maternal inheritance of mtDNA occurs so consistently across the animal kingdom remains largely unexplored.

Through a forward genetic screen in Drosophila, we identified proteins involved in eliminating paternal mtDNA during spermatogenesis. This project will employ genetic and biochemical approaches to characterise these proteins and reveal how they regulate paternal mtDNA removal during sperm development. It will help us build a full picture of the mechanisms governing maternal inheritance and contribute to the understanding of sperm development.

The student will join Professor Hansong Ma's lab at the University of Birmingham (https://www.themalab.co.uk/). Interested candidates please send her/his CV or any inquiries to Hansong Ma (h.ma.6@bham.ac.uk). The shortlisted candidate will be interviewed by the Midlabd integrated DTP panel in Feb/March. More information can be found here https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fac/mibtp/phd/supervisors/hma/.

References:

Sato & Sato, 2013, Maternal inheritance of mitochondrial DNA by diverse mechanisms to eliminate paternal mitochondrial DNA, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23524114/

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