Roosters run afoul of genetic rules

Moms aren’t the only ones that pass mitochondrial DNA to offspring

Chickens

LOOK, NO HENS  Roosters sometimes hand mitochondria down to their chicks, DNA analysis of White Plymouth Rock chickens reveals. Usually mitochondria, energy-producing organelles in cells, are inherited from the mother. 

Virginia Tech

Researchers caught a rooster doing a hen’s job: passing on mitochondrial DNA to his chicks.