My genetic inheritance consists of two molecules: (a) my nucleic DNA molecule; and (b) my mitochondrial DNA molecule. There is one (?) copy of the former in the nucleus of every cell in my body, and there is at least one copy of the latter in every mitochondrion (i.e. energy generator) in every cell in my body. My nucleic DNA molecule is unique to me (derived from some combination of my mother's and my father's), but my mitochondrial DNA molecule is the same as my mothers, modulo random mutation.
My mitochondrial DNA molecule is double-stranded and circular, consisting of between 15,000 and 17,000 'base pairs', encoding 37 genes.
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