Introduction to DNA Testing to Prove Lineage February 22, 2014 Czechoslovak Genealogical Society International Basic Definitions Program Outline Descriptions of the Different Kinds of DNA Tests Currently Available and What a Genetic Genealogist Can Learn From Them Dianne Plunkett Latham Case Studies Minimum DNA Testing Requirements and Background Cost - $99 - $300 Per Major Test Have An E-mail Address That Can Be Posted Sufficient Electronic Skills to be Able to Navigate a DNA Vendor s Web Site Must post your GEDCOM or Ancestor Surname List so That You Can Understand Your Matches Definitions Genome Entire set of chromosomes, # 1-23 All come in pairs except X and Y Autosomes - # 1-22 one of each pair comes from mother & the other from father The 23 rd Chromosome is X & Y. Two X s produce a daughter and an X and a Y produces a son 1
Basis for DNA Testing Men & Women have Mitochondria (mtdna) but only Women pass it to their children. It is passed in the female line without a father s influence. Sons cannot pass it; mtdna tracks the matrilineal Line Men have an X and a Y Chromosome. The Y chromosome tracks the patrilineal line. Women Have 2 X Chromosomes and no Y Chromosome What Can You Test with DNA? Women Matrilineal line (Mother s Mother, etc.) using mtdna Men Matrilineal line using mtdna OR Patrilineal line (Father s Father, etc.) using y Chromosome. Everyone Autosomes - Chromosomes #1 - #22 (All lines including Mother s Father s lines and Father s Mother s lines) Reasons People Test DNA Get Beyond a Documentation Brick Wall Determine Geographic Location for Further research Enable Adoptee to Reunite with Biological Family Verify Family Oral Tradition To Verify a Paper Trail To go on a Fishing Expedition What you Learn from Testing Your Matrilineal Line Assign daughters of different wives to the correct mother Prove a female child was adopted or the result of a non-paternity event Prove women of unknown parents or uncertain birth names were siblings Confirm matrilineal lineage indicated by documentation 2
What you Learn from Testing Your Patrilineal Line Assign sons of different fathers to the correct father Prove a male child was adopted or the result of a non-paternity event Prove men of unknown parents or uncertain birth names were siblings Confirm patrilineal lineage indicated by documentation www.familytreedna.com FTDNA database is several times larger than all other commercial databases combined! FTDNA has 7,842 Surname Projects as of 1-15-14 with over 665,133 records 293,946 Unique Surnames 481,477 ydna test results 155,448 37-marker records 73,386 67-marker records in the database 163,636 mtdna test results 28,157 Full Genomic Scan Records Participants from Over 190 Countries www.familytreedna.com Greatest variety of test products Helpful software management tools DNA sample retained 25 yrs for future upgrades Hosts free public database www.ysearch.org and www.mitosearch.org Publishes free e-mailed newsletter Facts & Genes Genetic Genealogy Webinars Available Has Volunteer Administrators to Help Interpret DNA Results What a FTDNA Volunteer Administrator Does Solicits Members Free sales force Answer questions Analyzes results and assigns members to a genetically related group Invited to ftdna s Annual November Conference in Houston TX, but Must Pay Own Registration Fee (approx $140) Plus Own Expenses 3
www.familytreedna.com Patrilineal Tests Available Price as of 1-15-14 Men Only - ydna 37 = $149 RECOMMENDED to Begin Men Only - ydna 67 = $248 Men Only ydna 111 = $339 Men Only Big Y 25,000 STRs = $695 Watch for the Annual ftdna Nov./Dec. Holiday Sale on all Tests ydna Mutation Rate A Y Mutation at any Single Marker is Expected About Once Every 500 Years More Mutations Indicate a More Distant Common Ancestor Excluded Relationships are Those Beyond a Genealogical Time Frame A 90% Match is Considered Related For 37 Markers, 4 or 5 Mismatches is Borderline and 6 Excludes a Relationship www.familytreedna.com Matrilineal Tests Available Men/Women - mtdna Plus (HVR2) $59 Men/Women Full mtdna Sequence (FMS/Mega) - $199 - RECOMMENDED - May Bring Matches Into Genealogical Timeframe - If it is an exact match (Rare) - Assigns Subclade Within Haplogroup - Includes Coding Region, which contains some medical information www.familytreedna.com Family Finder Autosomal Test = $99 Sibling, Half-Sibling, Paternity Identifies Most 2 nd Cousins Identifies 90% 3 rd Cousins Identifies 50% 4 th Cousins Identifies a few 5 th Cousins Not a Legal Paternity or Siblingship Test 4
Recommended Tests for Adoptees in Search of Biological Heritage Men Only ydna 111 Marker to locate father Big Y if seeking deep ancestry (optional common ancestor is thousands of years ago) Men/Women - mtfullsequence (FMS/Mega) to locate mother Men/Women Family Finder Autosomal Test If you don t get a good match at ftdna, try 23 & Me, which has a different population of customers Geno 2.0 for admixture Native American, African, W. European, Asian, etc. Other Autosomal Tests Available AfricanAncestry.com 23 & Me No Longer Reports Medical, Only Genealogical data Uses Same Chip as ftdna Family Finder Test Ancestry.com Other Useful Tests Geno 2.0 Test - $159.95 Nat l Geographic test of 150,000 markers, 17,000 STRs for Y-DNA deep ancestry - ftdna customers can transfer free of charge all positive Y-Chromosome SNP results into your ftdna account. - Does not indicate negative marker results so you can t tell if a location was untested, or tested but negative. - Good Admixture Test. Big Y - $695 ftdna test of 25,000 SNP s & 10 million base pairs More than any other available test ydna is More Useful for Genetic Genealogy Than mtdna ydna Mutations Occur an average of one every 500 years Some markers are faster moving and others slower moving mtdna is more stable and does not mutate in thousands of years, consequently it is not as useful for genetic genealogy Autosomal DNA is useful for genetic genealogy for 5-7 generations and very occasionally up to 10 generations 5
Reasons for Genetically Unrelated Identical Surnames False Paternity (Illegitimacy or Adultry) Accounts for 4% of all births still today Adoption of a Male Child or Remarriage of a Parent Surname Adoption The English did not generally have hereditary surnames until the end of the 14th century. Hereditary surnames followed later in Scotland and Ireland. Other Surname Adoption Scenarios Those who worked on a manor sometimes took the name of the Lord of the manor. A widow who remarried sometimes changed the name of her children by her deceased husband to her new husband s name. A man who married into a more powerful family sometimes took the name of his wife s family A woman having an out of wedlock child sometimes passed the child off as her mother s child Changing a surname for political reasons When Your Surname Does Not Match Your DNA 4% of all births in any generation are non paternity events - Check all past census to see if anyone of the surname whose DNA your family now carries lived near your family. Have your most distant male cousin DNA tested Check for a male adoption in the lineage Is There was any surname change in the lineage? Does an older woman in the lineage claim to be a mother? Is mom actually grandmother? NSDAR DNA Policy 5 Oct. 2013 Allows Y-DNA as part of a genealogical analysis of evidence, not as stand-alone proof of linage because while it can be used as a tool point to a family, it cannot be used as absolute proof for an individual. Statistical analysis allows conclusions regarding the probability of a common single ancestor within 150-200 years (or 6-8 generations) from the individual being tested. Mitochondrial DNA and Chromosomal (Autosomal) DNA are NOT yet accepted by NSDAR 6
NSDAR Y-DNA Guidelines 1-1-2014 At Least a 37 Marker Y-DNA from at Least 2 Males with a 37/37 match Using DAR s DNA Report Form Must Detail Efforts to Locate Direct Evidence Must Submit Direct Evidence to the Tested Male with no Other Analyses. Patriot & Son s Place of Birth must be documented Family Tree DNA is the Preferred Partner Because it has the Largest Y-DNA Database - $30 Discount is Offered See FamilyTreeDNA.com/DAR Each Test Subject Must be Willing to Comply with any DAR Requests to join any specified Y-DNA Group or Project. DAR offers a Class for $100 on Using DNA as a Piece of Evidence for a DAR Application see http://daronlineclasses.mrooms.net/ NSDAR Policy on Paternity Tests Consideration is given to DNA used as part of a paternity test. DNA or Blood tests are used in paternity tests and 2 living individuals are tested. Paternity tests are usually accompanied by a court order. Mayflower Policy on DNA Testing Can use DNA as Secondary Documentation in some circumstances. Working with ydna for Brewster, Standish and Eaton lineage. Working with Hopkins mtdna Sons of the American Revolution DNA Policy Y-DNA may be considered as part of a proof argument Autosomal DNA may be considered as part of a proof argument Doesn t Specifically Allow Use of mtdna, but it doesn t specifically rule it out in an appropriate case 7
Suggested Reading Smolenyak & Turner, Trace Your Roots with DNA, 2004 - Explains DNA test results and how you can use it in genealogy research. Brian Sykes, The Seven Daughters of Eve, 2001 - Explains Matrilineal DNA. Spencer Wells, The Journey of Man: A Genetic Odyssey, 2002 - Tracks the Human Diaspora. James Shreeve, National Geographic, March 2006, pp 60-73 The Greatest Journey. More Suggested Reading Bryan Sykes, Adams Curse, 2004 - Due to defects in the y chromosome, men may have to be cloned in the future (but not for at least 125,000 years)! Bryan Sykes, Saxons, Vikings, and Celts: The Genetic Roots of Britain and Ireland - 2006. Bryan Sykes, DNA USA 2012 European, American Indian & African American Mixtures Sam Kean, The Violinist s Thumb, 2012 Mayflower Quarterly, June 2006, Vol. 72. No. 2 pp 117 132. Niclolas Wade, Before the Dawn, 2006 Humanity s Deep Ancestry Good Luck With Your Genetic Genealogy Research! P.S. There is no end in sight Dianne Plunkett Latham holds a BA in History and Political Science from the University of Illinois, Urbana, and a J.D. from William Mitchell College of Law. Professionally she is a retired Medtronic Patent Attorney. Dianne has done conventional genealogical research for over 30 years. She began genetic genealogy in 2004 when she became a volunteer DNA surname administrator for both the Plunkett family and the Lampert family for Family Tree DNA, the largest genetic genealogy testing service in the world. She is a member of the Alden Kindred of America (AKA) as well as the AKA s recipient of the Genealogist's Award. She is also a member of the Mayflower Society. As a Daughter of the American Revolution (DAR) member, she is the past Minnesota State Society Corresponding Secretary, the current Minnesota State Society DAR Lineage Research Co-Chair, an NSDAR trained Volunteer Field Genealogist, a past Monument Chapter Regent, and is currently the Registrar for the Monument Chapter DAR. Other professional associations include having served as the President of the Minnesota Intellectual Property Law Association, as well as the Chair of the Minnesota State Bar Association Computer Law Section. 8