So what then? Should
you NOT be DNA tested? I’m not
attempting to steer anyone away from being tested. I think it is a wonderful opportunity to
assist in your genealogical practices: a method of extracting your deeper roots
via a genetic code that can be wisely used to match against probable prospects.
I myself have utilized DNA testing in this manner. As a male I have the opportunity to test for
all three available DNA packages on the market: Chromosomal (Y-DNA) which tests
the father’s line; the Mitochondrial (mt-DNA) which tests the mother’s line;
and the cheapest option, Autosomal DNA which tests everything to include all
the in-betweens.
Y-DNA testing will go back many centuries from father to son
on up the line. Similarly, mt-DNA will
do the same for the mother’s line. Both
of these tests can be a bit pricey. And
then there is the cheapest option, Autosomal DNA which tests the genetic
composition inherited from both sets of parents, thus being able to establish
or suggest our ethnicity.
At the time of this writing the following companies offer
DNA testing:
23andMe.com
This company, claiming to be the largest DNA ancestry
service in the world, sells a single Autosomal DNA test for $99 for which they
write, “trace your lineage back 10,000 years and discover your history from
over 750 maternal lineages and over 500 paternal lineages.” They used to offer health-related information
based on that genetic composition that suggested probable dis-eases a customer might
be prone to but the FDA got involved and shut the marketing of the health
information down. The FDA believed this
outcome to be unsubstantiated. Customers
that were grandfathered in were allowed to view their health profiles but new
customers will not be given any health-related information.
Personally I think the health information is quite
accurate. For instance I was tested to
have an increased risk for Type 2 Diabetes, Gout, Gallstones, Multiple
Sclerosis, High Blood Pressure, Scoliosis, amongst other things. When I served in the Marines they monitored
my blood sugar because I was borderline Diabetic. I do have (or had) high blood pressure which
is now controlled by eating properly and taking certain whole food supplements,
and I was discovered to have scoliosis (curvature of the spine) when 13 years
of age. Co-incidence? I don’t think so. I think 23andme.com is moving genetic science
forward into new territory… and anything new has always been feared and or
ridiculed UNTIL it was finally accepted as mainstream science.
So I fully support 23andMe.com in their foresight and wisdom
to launch into new territory. In my opinion
they should be allowed to continue their health investigations, questionnaires,
and publishing of possible risk factors WITH a disclaimer to the end-user that
these claims are not definite but probable.
My Experience with 23andMe.com
My ethnicity was determined to be 99.9% European with the
following breakdown: 18.6% British & Irish; 9.1% French & German; 1.4%
Scandinavian; 66.5% Nonspecific Northern European; 4.3% Nonspecific European;
and .1% Unassigned.
This composition comes from 31 tested populations
worldwide. Because it is Autosomal it
includes DNA inherited from both sides of my family – with no way of telling what
percentages I received from what parent.
If I were to have any complaints with the genetic
composition determined by 23andMe.com it is that it is not specific
enough. As you can see there is a large
segment (70.8%) that in labeled ‘nonspecific’ European. I would like to have that segmented
percentage broken down. Certainly there
are populations that can be tested in these European countries that can offer a
bit more in regards to ethnicity suggestions.
Other testing companies don’t seem to have a problem with this.
23andMe.com matched we with 991 relatives, two 2nd
cousin relationships (which I knew), two 3rd to 4th
cousin relationships (which I didn’t), and many 3rd to distant
relationships. A pet peeve of mine, and
it has nothing to do with any testing company, is that many testers hide behind
a shroud of privacy never revealing their ancestral surnames or even their own
name for that matter. What is the sense
in being tested if you don’t plan on making matches with other people? I’ve introduced myself to many matches only
to have my introduction declined or never answered. I just don’t get it.
Most of my 991 matches (and this number grows constantly as
new testers are matched) will NEVER be linked to my family tree. The surnames they give do not match my
own. And the distance between us could
be too great to make any sort of relationship finding useful.
AncestryDNA
A newcomer to the scene of genetic testing is Ancestry.com’s
own AncestryDNA. AncestryDNA offers a
full-range of testing: Y-DNA, mt-DNA, and Autosomal DNA. The Y-DNA test costs either $149 for a 33
Chromosome test or $179 for a 46. The
mtDNA test will cost you $179. And
combined the cost is either $328 or $358.
The Autosomal DNA test is regularly priced at $99.
Personally I don’t feel AncestryDNA’s Y-DNA testing at the
33 and 46 chromosome levels is sufficient to establish any sort of relationship. In my opinion this low level of testing can
establish too many false leads. I would
think this testing should be amped up to either 67 or 111 levels. This higher level of testing paints an
entirely new picture sifting low-level results while keeping only the best.
My wife and I have both been tested through
AncestryDNA. I paid for the mtDNA on
myself, manually entered my Y-DNA results from another company, and took the
Autosomal DNA test. My wife only took
the Autosomal DNA test.
AncestryDNA’s Autosomal test reveals a bit more than does
23andMe.com. With AncestryDNA it is
estimated that I am 100% European with the following genetic breakdown: 34%
Europe West (Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Luxembourg,
Liechtenstein – also found in England, Denmark, Italy, Slovenia, and the Czech
Republic); 33% Great Britain (England, Scotland, Wales – also found in Ireland,
France, Germany, Denmark, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, Austria, and
Italy); 16% Scandinavian (Sweden, Norway, Denmark – also found in Great
Britain, France, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, the Baltic States, and
Finland); 11% Ireland (Ireland, Wales, Scotland – also found in France and
England); 3% Italy/Greece; 2% Finland/Northern Russia; less than 1% Iberian
Peninsula; and less than 1% Europe East.
These figures are quite a bit different from that suggested
by 23andMe.com. I think AncestryDNA’s
suggestions are closer to the truth. My
father is Dutch. He comes from a long
lineage of Dutch marrying only Dutch.
And my mother’s line does have English, Scottish, and Irish with a bit
of German… all which are suggested by AncestryDNA.
Because Ancestry.com is such a large company I have many
more matches with varying degrees of confidence that there is a common ancestor
we share: some as high as 96%. And the
user testees are much more likely to have an established family tree for
comparison. I like that.
Unlike 23andMe.com I HAVE found new cousins with proven
relationships through Autosomal testing.
And I’ve even been privy to new information learned from these cousins –
information I would not have come across on my own. But I have learned nothing new through
either Ancestry.com’s Y-DNA or mtDNA testing.
I think AncestryDNA’s claim to fame is in its Autosomal DNA
test. The other tests have fallen to the
wayside. They are still there, they are
still being offered, but they are not as popular.
Why is that? I think
most people take the DNA test hoping to discover their ethnicity. And only the Autosomal test is able to
suggest this. Plus because the price of
the Autosomal test is so low compared to the more exhaustive test, it is in
better reach for most people financially.
My wife’s own testing was a bit more generalized than
mine. She descends from Central American
native Indians that mixed with the Conquistadors. She is tall, slender, with high cheekbones,
dark hair, and definite “indian” features.
AncestryDNA did account for this Indian composition categorizing it as:
57% Native American (North, Central or South American). This is NOT specific enough.
It was interesting however to see where the other 43% of her
genetic composition derived.
Surprisingly it was not all Iberian Peninsula (Spain). This only made of 8% of her genetics. Her breakdown was 10% Italy/Greece, 8%
Iberian Peninsula, 7% Great Britain, 3% Asian, 3% Irish, 3% European Jew, and
less than 1% each: Finland/Northwest Russia, Europe West, Pacific Islander, and
West Asian.
Because I did not feel that lumping all Native Americans
into one category was sufficient enough to establish my wife’s tribal
composition I turned to a lesser-known company that specializes in this
information. And I wouldn’t doubt that
Ancestry.com one day purchases this company because of the phenomenal job they
have done with testing native cultures around the world: information that is
valuable for summarizing genetic matches.
DNA Tribes
Found at DNAtribes.com, this company also tests the
Autosomal DNA inherited from both parents BUT this company compares that DNA
with over 1,200 ethnic groups found in 32 regions around the globe! But would this test reveal my wife’s Native
American tribal composition?
Soon after testing we received a 10-page PDF report
detailing my wife’s genetic profile. The
first 6 pages explained the process with colorized maps showing the various tribal
regions. And they are quite
detailed. The 6th page
explains the scoring methods used by the company to suggest match likelihood
with any given native culture. The final
4 pages were labeled as strictly confidential in nature. Page 7 shows all alleles tested and their
results. Page 8 shows native population
match results with map. Page 9 shows
global population match results with map.
And finally page 10 shows world region match results with map.
According to the report my wife tests high for:
Otomi (Ixmiquilpan Valley, Mexico); and Hna Hun (Otomi)
(Hidalgo, Mexico); Huastec (Hidalgo, Mexico), amongst others. These are all Mexican native cultures. But there were also a few Peruvian cultures
that matched.
Interesting to say the least. My wife remembers hearing her father talk
about the Huastec culture, how his side was descended from this mountain-dwelling
people. Her father is quite tall,
perhaps the mixture with Europeans originated in his lineage. Her mother is much shorter. It may be assumed, not proven, that her lineage
descends from the Otomi culture.
The Huastec culture is a pre-Columbian culture that constructed
cities and step pyramids, carved elaborate sculptures, painted pottery, but
wore no clothes. They were defeated in
1450 by the Aztec armies under Moctezuma and again in 1519-1530 by the Spanish
Invaders who quickly converted the natives to Roman Catholicism and/or sold the
natives into the Caribbean to be used for slave labor.
Because my wife knew about the Huastecs, to a certain
degree, and because DNA Tribes placed the Huastec culture near the top of my
wife’s ethnicity, it proves the reliability of this test. We found the test to be extremely accurate in
its predictions.
The test costs either $139.99 for a 22 marker test OR
$159.99 for a 26 marker test.
The one thing I didn’t like about the test results was the
way the results were delivered. Instead
of pointing us to their website where we could log-in and view the results,
they emailed a PDF report. This report
if lost cannot be reclaimed. It is lost
forever. I had a hard time finding it
for this article. I have since printed
it out.
I feel DNA Tribes is able to give those lumped into “native
cultures” by other testing companies a more accurate picture of their genetic
composition. It certainly did for my
wife. She now knows with a near absolute
certainty what ancient tribal cultures she descends through.
FamilyTree DNA
Then finally there is the grand-daddy of them all…
FamilyTree DNA. There is a reason that
90% of all genealogists recommend FamilyTree DNA. I will be exploring these reasons in Part 2
of this article.
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