Question

Researchers have found that mitochondria and chloroplasts in eukaryotic cells have their own DNA. This DNA is different from the DNA in a eukaryotic cell's nucleus. Chloroplasts and mitochondria use their own DNA and ribosomes to make some organelle-specific proteins.

Answer 1

Mitochondria and chloroplasts contain their own DNA due to their evolutionary origin from free-living bacteria. This unique feature suggests an endosymbiotic relationship where these organelles were once independent organisms.

Mitochondria are thought to have evolved from an ancestral alpha-proteobacterium, while chloroplasts likely originated from a cyanobacterium.

The incorporation of these bacteria into host cells provided mutual advantages: the host cells gained enhanced energy production capabilities and the ability to perform photosynthesis, while the engulfed bacteria received protection and a stable environment.

The retention of their own DNA is a remnant of their bacterial ancestry. Unlike the cell nucleus, which houses the majority of an organism's genetic material, the mitochondrial and chloroplast genomes are smaller and retain essential genes involved in their specific functions.

While these organelles have transferred many genes to the nuclear genome during evolution, they still maintain a fraction of their original genetic material.

The presence of autonomous DNA in mitochondria and chloroplasts allows for local control of certain genetic processes and facilitates rapid responses to environmental changes.

Question

Why do mitochondria and chloroplast contain their own DNA?

Answer 2

Mitochondria and chloroplast in Eukaryotic cells have their own DNA.

Step-by-step explanation:

Researchers have found that mitochondria and chloroplasts in eukaryotic cells have their own DNA , they have their own DNA because Chloroplast and mitochondria are subcellular organelles that produces energy for the cells with their own genomes and genetic systems.

Therefore, when dna is replicated, it is transmitted to the daughter cells which produces cytoplasmic inheritance of traits and this is as a result of photosynthesis and respiration by the organelles Chloroplast and respiration.