AbstrctThe mechanism of maternal mitochondrial inheritance in animals involves the selective elimination of sperm mitochondria by the elimination factor of the egg and the sperm mitochondria-specific factor. In vitro fertilization using sperm from congenic mice incorporating heterogeneous mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) showed that the number of PCR positives of sperm mtDNA in two-cell embryos was significantly increased following sperm incubation with anti-tpis, anti-Tom22 and anti-Tom40 antibodies. The treatment of fertilized eggs with EGTA and endonuclease inhibitors increased the sperm mtDNA levels. We conclude that the elimination factor, which is probably an endonuclease, is selectively received by the tpis protein of the sperm mitochondrial outer membrane within the egg. It is then transported into the sperm mitochondria by Tom22 and Tom40, where it destroys the sperm mtDNA, establishing the maternal inheritance of mtDNA.3