MtDNA Data Mining in GenBank Needs Surveying

Abstract

To the Editor: Since the first sequencing of the complete human mtDNA genome,1 both the sequencing techniques and the quality of commercial kits have improved greatly. This has led to a growing number of reports for complete mtDNA sequences from the fields of molecular anthropology, medical genetics, and forensic science; and there are now over 6700 complete or near-complete mtDNA sequences available for study.2 However, in comparison to the pioneer manual-sequencing efforts in the early nineties, the overall mtDNA data quality, especially in the medical field, is still far from satisfactory.