In scientific research, which application best describes how mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is commonly used?

• A. Determining paternal lineage because mtDNA is inherited exclusively from the father in most animals
• B. Mapping recombination hotspots across all chromosomes because mtDNA undergoes frequent meiotic crossing over like nuclear DNA
• C. Tracing maternal lineage and inferring evolutionary relationships because mtDNA is typically inherited maternally and mutates at a useful rate for phylogenetic analysis
• D. Identifying allele frequencies for most Mendelian traits because mtDNA encodes the majority of genes controlling human phenotypes

Answer: (C)