DNA Testing

Maternal DNA Testing

Testing for maternity differs sharply from paternity testing. Although it's possible to use the same methods as paternity testing to test for maternity, there is a far easier method that is used in most DNA testing labs today.

Mitochondrial DNA or mDNA testing is a type of genetic testing which is used to find out more about the mother’s side of the family. This is because mitochondrial DNA (also known as maternal DNA) is passed only from the mother to her children.

Mitochondrial DNA is DNA found in the mitochondria of the cells (one of those little organs in each and every cell in your body, it's responsible for energy production). It is different from nuclear DNA, which is the "main DNA" of the cell found in the nucleus (see our What is DNA page for more information). The nuclear DNA is a mix of the mother and father’s DNA, whereas mitochondrial DNA is only inherited from the mother. When the egg from the mother and the sperm from the father join to form a fertilized egg the tail of the sperm which contains the father’s mitochondrial DNA is left behind, as a result only the mother’s mitochondrial DNA is passed onto the child.

Like nuclear DNA tests, mitochondrial DNA testing is done by first collecting a sample of DNA either through a blood sample or through a cheek swab, the cheek swab being the preferred method used, because it is easier and painless. These samples are then sent away to a laboratory that does mitochondrial DNA testing and they in turn analyze the results.

Mitochondrial DNA testing is used for a number of reasons – to determine the existence of a direct family link on the mother’s side of the family, it can also be used in ancestry DNA testing to test the mother’s ancestry or in forensic DNA testing.

In the 1980’s scientists started using mitochondrial DNA testing to solve cases where the parents of a child were unknown. They use a section on the mitochondrial DNA that varied from family to family substantially and so provided evidence of who the mother or grandmother was. Due to the fact that mitochondrial DNA is passed directly from mother to child through the generations, maternal aunts and uncles should also contain mitochondrial DNA matching that of a child with missing parents, so if the maternal grandmother cannot be found it is possible to try matching the child with an aunt or uncle.

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