Figure 2. Stochastic mouse mtDNA model.

(A) The in silico mouse model simulates the point mutation load of mtDNA in cells of a tissue such as heart and liver during development and postnatal stages. (B) Stochastic drift of point mutations in cells results as a consequence of mtDNA maintenance processes. Three sources of randomness are captured: (I) a random selection of a mitochondrion with ten mtDNA molecules from a well-mixed population, (II) a random replication or degradation of a mitochondrion, and (III) random occurrences of de novo mtDNA point mutation during replication.