CRISPR & Mitochondria

Unlike chromosomes, which you inherit from both parents, mitochondrial DNA comes only from your maternal side. Mutations can cripple the cell’s ability to generate energy and lead to debilitating, often fatal conditions that affect about one in 6,500 people worldwide. Until now, scientists prevent mitochondrial disease by swapping out one egg’s mitochondria for another, a procedure commonly known as three-person IVF . This summer, scientists in Seattle and Boston published a study showing they had discovered a way to harness a strange enzyme found in biofilm-forming bacteria to make precise changes to mitochondrial DNA. The new system has not yet been tested in humans but the discovery opens up another promising avenue.