Posts Tagged ‘Y-DNA’
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.

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DNA Ancestry Project: Find Ancestors Through DNA
The DNA ancestry project of your family is the name that is generally used when a family member traces back their lineage by genetic means. Before the advent of DNA testing, when a person wanted to know about their past, they would usually start by interviewing the elder members of the family.
Families usually have one member that is like the unofficial historian of the clan. This member would be the recipient of the old newspaper articles and other clippings of events in which family members were involved.
With the discovery of DNA testing and the ease at which a person and family can utilize it now, since the costs have dramatically decreased in recent years, the search of a family’s past has been made significantly easier.
By having your family tree traced back through both the Y DNA and the mtDNA lines, a person would be able to locate the areas where their family lived in past years. With the use of the surname data bases that are on most DNA ancestral sites, it is much easier to find out pertinent information about past members of your family.
Some searches lead to more information than others, but one fact has been found out about all of the humans that are living in the modern age. We all came from Africa and a common ancestor about 65,000 years ago. It’s the path from then till present day that tells the story of a family. This is what the study of the genealogy of your family can tell you.
By knowing your past relatives, you will know more about yourself and why you live where you do. This is what a family DNA ancestry project can bring you and your other family members.
This is where you can take the simple, pain free, DNA ANCESTRY PROJECT

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Genealogy DNA Testing: What’s it All About?
With genealogy DNA testing, a person or family can trace back their heritage or lineage to who their ancestors were and where they came from. The way this is accomplished is by examining the different nucleotides on the DNA sample and where they are located on the strain.
Unlike other DNA testing results, this is for ancestral heritage only. The DNA testing for medical purposes that include genetic diseases and disorders is not what this test will uncover.
The testing of DNA for genealogy purposes involves identifying certain nucleotide markers from the current sample with those in a historical database that contains ancestral populations from the distant past.
For males, both the father’s and mother’s ancestral lines can be explored, while for females, only their mother’s ancestors can be uncovered. This is because males have both the Y DNA chromosome and the mt DNA chromosome.
The Y chromosome is the genetic marker that is passed down from father to son and is unchanged. This is the path that can be followed for both the surname ancestral path and genetic markup. If a female wishes to know their father’s lineage, a sample from their brother, father, uncle, or grandfather can trace back the Y chromosome line of heritage. In time, this genetic marker changes slightly so perfect matches over thousands of years is unobtainable.
The mtDNA is the genetic marker every mother passes down to their children. This is for both males and females the woman gives birth to. Unlike the Y DNA, the mtDNA does not change over time and perfect matches with samples thousands of years old is very common.
This is a general description of the potential a person can expect when they have genealogy DNA testing done when looking into the past history of their family.
Genealogical DNA Testing keeps advancing and now the latest types of autosomal testing can even help discover your level of Native American Ancestry.

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DNA Testing for Genealogy
One thing that DNA testing for genealogy shows is, if you are a male, you have the same biological component as your father, your grandfather, your great-grandfather, your great, great grandfather and your g-g-g-g-g-grandfather.
That component is called the Y-chromosome, part of the genetic ribbon of information that makes every male, male. When you test your Y-DNA, you can determine whether you are or are not related to another male with the same surname. You might even want to join the growing list of surname projects going on across the country.
DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, exists in almost all cells and is the building block for a human being. DNA determines genetics and whether your eyes are blue and your hair is straight. It also predicts the risk for health disorders or diseases, so there is much to be learned through DNA testing that goes beyond ancestry.
The way genealogists approach DNA testing is they look for mutations. In other words, a mutation is a change in the DNA sequencing. Cells in our body increase by dividing in a process called mitosis. An enzyme called polymerase uses the original DNA helix as a template and then builds a whole new cell using the same DNA code.
Occasionally a mutation in this process occurs and gets passed on. It is rare; approximately 0.2% per generation, but it does signal a break in the identical ancestral code that gets passed from father to son.
There are DNA genealogy tests for women, even if they do not have a Y chromosome. For women, scientists rely on the mitochondrial DNA which gets passed from the mother to all her offspring.
It’s fascinating that with the help of a single cheek swab DNA testing for genealogy can track the history of your surname, or even your ancient ancestors as they migrated from East Africa 80 thousand years ago.

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Ancestry DNA Test: A Most Revealing Test
The most common ancestry DNA test is the Y-DNA and the mtDNA test. Using the genetic information in these tests, you can answer questions about your long-ago history that your grandparents and historical documents can’t provide.
There are 100 labs worldwide that collect DNA material for genetic testing. All tests are basically the same. They require a swab of the inside of your cheek and use it to establish a database of comparison.
The Y-DNA test will establish the direct line ancestry of your father since only males have a Y chromosome. It passes unchanged from father to son and beyond. Laboratories compare the analysis of samples among men and to find out how far back they must go to discover a common ancestor. That is how families learn who among those with the same surname are related to them. In fact, some families have ongoing surname projects where various family members submit Y-DNA samples to discover other people with the same surname who are indeed related.
Woman do not have Y chromosomes so their X chromosomes are reliable only in determining their mother’s maternal ancestral line. Women who wish to know more about their paternal ancestry must request cooperation for a sample from their father, uncle, brother, paternal grandfather or cousin who shares the same surname as the father.
Once in the lab, workers look for various markers along the Y-DNA strand. The more markers, the more accurate the results of one’s ancestry. The Genographic Project is looking at 12 markers; however surname projects and most laboratories look for 25 markers or more.
Once the markers are compared, workers can suggest a haplogroup, or genetic population. Haplogroups are ancient clans that migrated across the globe from Africa.
Genetic testing can determine what percentage of a person is European, Asian, Native American or Sub-Saharan African, making an ancestry DNA test the most revealing test one can take.

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Understanding Genealogy DNA
Another name for genealogy DNA is molecular DNA because that is where the science of family begins. Until the late 1980s the only tool available for people seeking information about their ancestors was historical records and the remembrances of grandma and grandpa. You might be able to recall the names of your grandparents, but do you know the names of your great-grandparents? Precisely. Few people do. Advances in DNA typing are filling in the blanks.
Almost all cells in the human body contain DNA, deoxyribonucleic acid. DNA is a string of proteins that tell our bodies how to grow; whether to have blue eyes or brown, whether to have a predisposition to heart disease or cancer. It is the complete genetic blueprint of people. It makes each of us unique but also similar to our parents and ancestors.
There are two types of cells used to map out genealogy, Y-Chromosome DNA, and Mitochondrial DNA or mtDNA. The Y chromosome exists in men and is passed down from fathers to sons. Women don’t have a Y chromosome and thus cannot be tested for their paternal heritage. Men can know who was their father’s father, and on and on through hundreds of generations. Generally the paternal line can be tested to the origin of the surname, although some African-Americans have surnames dating back just to the 19th century.
Mitochondrial DNA is the opposite of Y-DNA and is passed down from mothers to her offspring of both genders. The difference with this kind of DNA is that both men and women have it and can be tested for it. Therefore, a man can learn about the ancestral lines of his mother and his father, but women can only know the lines of their mother. In order to learn information about their father’s ancestry, they have to have their father, brother or male cousin tested.
Despite the limits of DNA testing for women, mitochondrial DNA has a slower rate of mutation than Y-DNA. The results of clean strains cover more years. While Y-DNA may go back for 12 generations, Mitochondrial DNA can reflect 30 generations or more.
When scientists test DNA for genealogy they assign letter values to “markers” which are specific spots on a microscopic strand of DNA. The values reveal a pattern that shows similarities to other people in DNA data bases. Some strands have fewer mutations or differences, and the more you have in common with others in the DNA databases, the more likely they are to have a common ancestor with you.
One of the limits of Mitochondrial DNA is that the mitochondria exist in the cytoplasm of the cell instead of the nucleus. As stated before, mtDNA mutates very slowly. When scientists find an exact match it is difficult to know if the common ancestor lived recently or hundreds of years ago.
One famous use of mitochondrial DNA involved the identification of the Russian Royal family. Czar Nicolas, his wife and their five children were all executed by the Bolsheviks in 1919. For nearly 100 years their fate was not known however with the fall of the Soviet Union a search for the bodies unearthed the probable graves.
Prince Philip of England provided a DNA sample in which mtDNA was extracted to determine if the Russian Royals were within the newly discovered graves. Prince Philip shares the same maternal line as Queen Victoria, as did Czar Nicholas. The DNA test proved the bodies in the graves were indeed the Romanov family, the last royals in Russia.
It is easy to give a DNA sample. 100 labs around the world provide the services. Find an accredited one, order the kit and begin your search with genealogy DNA for ancestors the world over.








