The Trinity Of DNA Testing

This is not so much about which company to test with, but since only one company does all three tests with ‘all’ bells and whistles then the connection to that company is obvious. But I have tested with, and write about more than half of the companies that test DNA for genealogy – and other things as well – like health and wellness.

But this is more about – what are the three main tests and the answers are in these charts. (Below you will find a blank chart for you to print out and make your own ancestry chart. And there are more of the credits for the chart with much thanks to Harrison County, WVa. Also below more in-depth information about each test and how they can work together will be added.)

Fan Shaped Ancestor Chart – thanks to Harrison County, WVa

This is just a fan-shaped ancestor chart – the center circle is the self and the next arc is the parents – father and mother. The next arc has all four grandparents with slots and the next the great grand parents and on and on for seven generations on this chart.

This chart shows, colored in pink, the ONLY ancestors included in the test results and, it is ONLY their singular maternal line.

The first DNA sequenced was the maternal DNA – CAUTION – almost NO genealogy comes from the mt-DNA test – so often this will be the last DNA test some people do.

But who does not want to know their genetic signature of their mother’s mother’s mother’s mother’s mother’s mother’s mother’s mother’s mother’s mother’s mother’s mother’s mother’s mother’s mother’s mother’s ….

breath… mother’s mother’s mother’s mother’s mother’s mother’s MOTHER

Going back 10s of 1,000s of years and everyone has a mother and carry their own mother’s mt-DNA. BUT note men of course do not pass it on.

This chart shows, colored in blue, the ONLY ancestors included in the test results and, it is ONLY their singular paternal line, no other of any of their ancestors.

The male y-dna test is for men only, it is what they get from their father that makes them men. This is the singular genetic signature of ONLY the y gene of a male line of father’s father’s father’s father’s father’s father’s father’s father’s father’s father’s father’s father’s father’s father’s father’s father’s father’s father’s

breath… father’s father’s father’s father’s father’s father’s FATHER.

Unlike mt-dna – you can get lots of genealogy out of y-DNA. Without the science, the marker mutations that are read in this test change very slowly (they are called Short Tandem Repeats STRs) And so a man who lived 250 years ago or 500 years ago will have very very similar markers as one of his descendants living today – so more below, but the beauty of this, is you can identify – written in stone – rather in DNA a family line and who is in it or not exactly.

If women want to know their father’s y-DNA or their mother’s father’s y-DNA they might use the autosomal test as part of verification of relationship and then read the y-dna of a male relative of any specific surname.

The chart shows – sort of – where autosomal genes tested come from – more or less.

A person is ONLY 100% of themselves – meaning – a person cannot be 100% of a parent – they are sort of 50% and 50% of parents; 25% of grand parents; 12.5% of great grand parents and so on.

The autosomal test, abbreviated as au-DNA or at-DNA, is the best test for finding unknown relatives because it shows a little from this person, a little from that person, none or almost none of another person. Maybe a lot of this person over here and maybe just a few tiny glimpses of some ancestors from way back when.

The test will begin to miss people from about 2nd cousin back, depending on which company, with what type of sequencing and software reading and settings on their APPs. But it will read enough 3rd 4th and so on cousins that one might not ever figure out how two people are related unless the paper is known on at least somebody to “triangulate” with – like a threesome. So’n’So and I are 2nd cousins and everybody that we both match on the same genes, in common, we know how we are related to them because we know how we are related to each other.

It will pick up some 5th and 6th cousins but this is where it begins to get iffy and really from the start it can be iffy reading, because if you are related to a person two ways, the match will appear to be closer than it is because you share more genes (but if you divided your “amounts” of shared genes by two then it is all distant.

But bottom line – a parent and child will share X amounts, Grandparents and grandchildren and aunts and uncles will have average amounts of how much we share. 1st cousins will have an average of x-amount, with variations and so on is known for 1st cousin 1X, 2nd cousin 2x and on and on.

The chart shows the general percentages of how much each of our ancestors could be in our genetic makup. I am no artist. The y-dna test and the mt-dna test, although limited to a single line each, the genes are read for 10s of 1,000s of years back in time, back in genealogy. But the Autosomal test only reads a few generations and reads less with each generation back in time and reads very little from about 4th or 5th generations and almost nothing soon after.

I must add – many sites, stories and info say – Y-DNA learn about your dad’s… and mt-DNA learn about your mom’s… But I want all to look closely at these charts also. You see the tiny blue (on y-dna) and tiny red (on mt-DNA)

The y- and the mt- ONLY reads the single gender line of a person’s DNA so the test does not tell you all about all of daddy’s daddys or mamma’s mammas. These tests read the genetic line of patrilineal and matrilineal history.

Copy mt only of Copy of Copy of fan chart blank credit

The female line The mt-dna test is the single genetic reading of the female line. Not all about all the mother or their mothers, this is the female gender link between all the mothers. But this test reads this line for 1,000s and 1,000s of years of maternal ancestresses – which is wonderful – next read about haplogroups!

Copy of y line Copy of Copy of fan chart blank credit

The Male Line – The y-dna test is the single genetic reading of the male line. Not all about all the father or their fathers, this is the male gender link between all the fathers. But this test reads this line for 1,000s and 1,000s of years of paternal ancestors – which is wonderful – next read about haplogroups!

I love filling in my families’ charts, just a pencil and a page and see each person’s story – each ancestor’s really very different from the others in these late melting pot countries. Here is a blank chart if you like the fan-shaped chart.

more………..

So when I match cousins in autosomal who have had their y-dna tested than I can know the exact ancestral lines and so much more about all the haplogroup groups and not just did they match or not.