Maternal – Related through one’s mother.


Maternity Test – A test (usually DNA) to determine whether a woman is or is not the biological mother of a child.


Matrilineal – Relating to descent through the maternal line.


Mitochondria – The energy-producing organelle in the cell of a living organism. Each cell has multiple mitochondria.


Mitochondrial DNA – DNA present in the mitochondria of a living organism.


Monozygotic twins – Also called identical twins, monozygotic twins develop from a single fertilized egg which then divides and develops as two separate embryos. Their DNA is therefore exactly the same, they will be the same sex and they are more likely to look like each other.


Motherless – A DNA test conducted without any DNA from the child’s mother.


Mutation – A change of the DNA sequence within a gene or chromosome of an organism resulting in the creation of a new allele not found in either of the parents. If the mutation takes place in a non-coding part of the DNA, this change will not affect the physical appearance or functions of the offspring.