Posts Tagged ‘cotton swab’
Genealogical DNA Test
The genealogical DNA test that is readily available for any one to take has been refined over the years to give accurate and informative information about the ancestral past of the subject. Because of the popularity of this kind of test, the prices have decreased in recent years making the availability of even more results and family lines available for genealogist to use in their work.
The simplicity of the test makes it possible for most anyone to take the sample at their home. This helps to avoid an unnecessary expense of traveling to a certified laboratory and having a technician take the sample.
A sample is taken by rubbing a cotton swab, or a provided paddle type scraper, on a person’s cheek inside the mouth. This collects numerous cells that contains the DNA. This sampling technique is the simplest that can be used. The only decision a person needs to make is how thorough of a test that is to be conducted should be. The more markers that are identified, the more information can be discovered.
There are two distinctly different tests that can be conducted. The Y DNA is for the father’s lineage while the mtDNA is from the mother lineage. With the Y DNA, there are repeating nucleotides that are called Short Tandem Repeats (STRs) that are identified. There are over 100 of these present but the maximum testing usually only contains 67 of them for thorough results.
With mtDNA, the Single Nucleotides Polymorphisms (SNPs) are tested. These are passed down from every mother to her children without mutations. This is a stable DNA that can be traced back in time to which Haplogroup a person originates from. The basic test involves 12 markers but just like the Y DNA, up to 67 markers can be identified and used for analysis.
Depending on the thoroughness of the desired results, a genealogical DNA test can range in cost from just under $100 up to $700. The choice is that of the person desiring the results.






