Uniparental inheritance occurs in extranuclear genes when only one parent contributes organellar DNA to the offspring. A classic example of uniparental gene transmission is the maternal inheritance of human mitochondria. The mother's mitochondria are transmitted to the offspring at fertilization via the egg. The father's mitochondrial genes are not transmitted to the offspring via the sperm. Very rare cases which require further investigation have been reported of paternal mitochondrial inheritance in humans, in which the father's mitochondrial genome is found in offspring.[6] Chloroplast genes can also inherit uniparentally during sexual reproduction. They are historically thought to inherit maternally, but paternal inheritance in many species is increasingly being identified. The mechanisms of uniparental inheritance from species to species differ greatly and are quite complicated. For instance, chloroplasts have been found to exhibit maternal, paternal and biparental modes even within the same species.[7][8]
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