As my textbook An Introduction to Genetic Analysis points out, yeast mitochondrial DNA has approximately 78 kb of genetic data, while the human mitochondrial DNA contains 17 kb. Is there any evolution reason for this drastic change in size? Also, are there any particularities about mitochondrial function that have been compromised with this reduction in size?
References
- Griffiths, Anthony J. F. An Introduction to Genetic Analysis. New York: W.H. Freeman, 2000.