A student claims that if the animal producing the spermatozoa has a mutation in a mitochondrial gene, the probability that any offspring will inherit the mutation is zero. Provide evidence to support claim.

Mitochondrial DNA is inherited from the maternal side (from the oocyte). The mitochondria from the sperm cell including their DNA are degrade after fertilisation.

The size of the cells that make the zygote also contribute to this. The oocyte is much larger than the sperm, containing around 100,000 mitochondria, whereas the much smaller sperm cell only contains around 100. This means even initially, there are very few paternal mitochondria compared to maternal mitochondria in the first place, effectively diluting them out.

This, coupled with the degradation of the sperm mitochondria, means that offspring will not inherit mitochondrial DNA and any mutations from their father.

aliasger2709 aliasger2709 · Answer 2 · 2021-11-16T09:54:42+01:00

Sperm or the spermatozoa is a male reproductive cell. It consists of flagella, head and body. The sperm or the male cell fertilizes with the female reproductive cell called the egg to produce offspring.

If the organism producing the spermatozoa has a modification in a mitochondrial gene, then the possibility of offspring having a mutation will be zero.

The explanation for the above statement is:

Mitochondrial gene is obtained from the maternal side that is the mother's reproductive cells (oocyte).

The mitochondria of the male reproductive cell the sperm degenerate after the process of fertilization and do not take part further in the process.

The abundance of female mitochondria outnumbers the mitochondria present in the sperm cells.

Therefore, mitochondrial DNA transfers exclusively from the mother to the offspring.

To learn more about reproductive cells follow the given link:

https://brainly.com/question/16127033