Research Paper Volume 6, Issue 6 pp 454—467
Transmission from centenarians to their offspring of mtDNA heteroplasmy revealed by ultra-deep sequencing
Figure 6. Model of the mechanism of heteroplasmic patterns in blood of long-lived families.
The number and thickness of each rectangle represents the different heteroplasmic level of each site, while the sum of all numbers represents the total heteroplasmy value. Total heteroplasmy is more similar within parents-offspring pairs than between pairs (CENT1 = 13 and CO1 = 14 while CENT2 = 17 and CO2 = 16). Each family shares a common core of heteroplasmic sites (here marked in blue). This core is composed of two types of heteroplasmic sites (i) public heteroplasmic positions that all pairs share (here marked with a yellow shadow) and (ii) private heteroplasmic sites that characterize each family.