Table 1 Milestones in mitochondrial genomics

1909

Correns and Baur independently identify the first cases of extranuclear inheritance

1934

Goldschmidt suggests that causes for color differences in gypsy moths may reside in the mitochondria

1940

Winge and Laustsen observe ‘inbreeding degeneration’ in diploid yeast which they suggest is due to mitochondrial heredity

1944

Slaughter presents the idea of field cancerization in oral cancer

1949

Ephrussi uses genetic analysis to show that respiration-deficient baker's yeast is due to mutations in the cytoplasm, not the nucleus. Soon after, Slonimski and Ephrussi show the deficiency is due to mitochondrial dysfunction

1953

Slaughter formalizes the concept of field cancerization as preconditioning of tissues for the onset of an ‘as-yet-unknown carcinogenic agent’ which later turns out to be mitochondrial mutation

1963

Nass and Nass use an electron microscope to show that chick embryo mitochondria contain DNA

1964

Schatz et al. shows biochemically that baker's yeast mitochondria contains DNA

Late 1970s

Groundwork for the field of mitochondrial genomics is firmly established

1981

Anderson et al. publishes the sequence and organization of the human mitochondrial genome as 16,569 base pairs long

1990^a

The US Department of Energy and the National Institute of Health present a 5-year plan to Congress for the Human Genome Project

1999^a

Chromosome 22 becomes the first human chromosome to be completely sequenced

2000^a

Working draft of the human genome is completed

2004^a

Human gene count estimated at 20,000 to 25,000

2006^a

Human genome completely sequenced in high resolution and is about 3 billion base pairs long