DNA testing and ancestral research tools
DNA testing and how it helped me
In this blog entry I will try to introduce which tools I have used to find my family.
Autosomal DNA testing companies are a rather new business which is fast growing. About ten years ago science developed a way to analyse DNA mapping relatives on a larger scale. A ton of DNA testing companies has risen, but only a few are really reliable and trust worthy. These companies also varies on how many testers they have in their database, but also where geographicly they are most popular.
Autosomal DNA-testing companies
Ancestry.com is the largest of them all with a database of more than 10 million testers, primarily from USA. This company is the #1 company among Americans. Ancestrys primaer focus is genealogy, but also ethnicity estimation. Test costs about $99, but has offers down to $59 in connection with American holidays.
23andMe.com is the second largest with a database about 5 million testers. The name of the company refers to each person concists of 23 chromosomes. 23andMe primaer focus is estimation of ethnicity and health reports telling which illness's running in the genes. They also provide ancestral matches, but that is not their main focus. Test costs about $99, but offers down to $79 has been seen.
MyHeritage.com comes in number three with a database about 2,4 million testers around the world. This company has same focus as Ancestry, but is prefered by European testers and not so much by Americans. MyHeritage provides the option of uploading the RAW-file (test result) from other companies, giving matches in their database. Test costs about $99, but offers down to $69 occurs frequently.
FTDNA.com is the smallest of the large testing companies with about 800,000 testers. FTDNA is like Ancestry and MyHeritage, focusing on ethnicity estimation and genealogy. FTDNA i primarily prefered i Scandinavia and Asia. Family Finder tests costs $79, but FTDNA also provides a long line of more specific Y- and mtDNA tests to map paternal and maternal ancestry. Those costs from $169.
The level of match between you and a relative is announced in either Centimorgan (cM) or percent. The higher the number is, the closer the match is.
These are the recommended commercial autosomal DNA-testing companies. Beside the testing companies I also made use of some free tools at the internet. Those were tools like:
Gedmatch.com which is a database where you can upload the RAW-data to find the relatives tested at other companies, who also uploaded their results to Gedmatch.
DNApainter.com is another free tool I have used a lot. Typing in the level of match given, DNA painter provide a tabel of possible relations. This tool is very valueable as it helps estimates where to look for the person you are looking for. Here below is two examples of matches. A distant match and a close match.
This is the match possibilities to a cousin who showed out to be my second cousin once removed (2C1R).
When I got a result, I used to color-mark each possiblity according to the options. Fx. the highest possiblities would have a red dot, the second highest a blue dot and so on.
In this case this map would tell that our common ancestor would have been a great grandparent. I would have to look for a sibling or my cousins great grandparents.
Things like this helped me to sort where in my cousins huge family tree, that I had to look for my birthfather. My breakthrough really came when I got this match of someone who showed to be my first cousin. How I worked this one out, you can read more about in the entry: "My Story".
Along with all the genealogy, DNA tests also provides ethnicity estimations, and here I need to stress this is what it says: ESTIMATIONS.
Many a much too focused on the nationalities, but infact science are really that far yet, that they can give anything for sure on this. I will here below show you my ethnicity estimations from Ancestry, 23andMe and MyHeritage. You can then see for yourself have much it can varies.
Ethnicity estimation
When it comes to ethnicity estimation you need to keep one important thing in mind. Every person consist of ABOUT 50% of each their parents, BUT that doesn't mean that if you are 50% percent British, your child will be 25% British. It can be anything from 0-25% British.
Imagine both parents are a big bowl of ping pong balls with 100 in each. Now you randomly draws 50 balls from each bowl. These are the genes you are passing on to your child. Perhaps you don't draws any British genes to pass on to your child. Therefore don't panic if your child doesn't have exactly half your estimations.
MyHeritage
This said, I will start by MyHeritage, as this was the first test I did. This test result estimates me being a little more European, than Asian. MyHeritage cannot give results on Korea, therefore Korea doen't show in the results.
23andMe estimations
The next test I did was by 23andMe. This company goes far more into details, than MyHeritage does. Both results reveals that my from my mother I have inherited a small amount of Japanese bloodline. This is a fact that most Koreans don't like to admit, and therefore ignores. Well, DNA doesn't lie. Different to the MyHeritage result, 23andMe estimates me a little more Asian than European.
While 23andMe also gives results on Native American, this is traced back to when asians left Asia and entered America thousands of years ago. So this doesn't mean I have Native American blood running in my veins.
Ancestry estimations
Finally the estimation from Ancestry, which gives me exactly 50% Asian.
An FTDNA result may have shown a fouth result. The reasons of these variations on results are the basis the companies are comparing with. The main thing to focus on in these results are the big lines: Asian, European, African and Native American. Don't focus on the nationalities too much.
Facebook as a tool
Facebook is by 2.32 billion users around the globe (December 31 2018) the largest social media in the world (Source: Zephoria.com, March 20 2019). Using regular genealogy research tools, you cannot get any closer to present by Census Records, than about 40-70 years in the past. To move closer you need to use other tools. Facebook is one of them.By Facebook you can look for now living people, but there is a multitude of Facebook groups themed around genealogy research somehow. Some are world wide, some a limited to specific nations.
DNA groups and genealogy groups a.o. I have brought use of is:
Fun features of DNA
Neanderthal Ancestry at 23andMe
23andMe also provides a little fun thing. It is not to be used for anything, but fun. That is the Neanderthal Ancestry estimation. How much pre-historic Neanderthal genes do I have inherit?
According to 23andMe I have a little above average Neanderthal ancestry genes within. This will be something I to some degree will share with my brothers. So when acting stupid, we can just refers to the Neanderthal genes coming through.
Archaic Matches at GedMatch
Another fun feature in this DNA stuff, is at GedMatch providing the Archaic matches. This is the DNA matches of skelletons the archaeologists has dug up around the world. Here are some few to some degree strong matches. Among these are the "LBK, Stuttgart, Germany", which is estimated to be about 7,500 years old.
 |
| Archaic Matches at GedMatch.com |
Another is "Loschbour Man" from Heffingen, Luxembourg, which is estimated to be abt. 8,000 years old. The video 3D-animation is in french, but one can look the pictures, if not understanding the language.
Just to list the rest of the strongest matches of the Archaic skelettons:
- Clovis, Montana, USA, est. 12,500 years old
- BR2, Hungary, Europe, est. 1110-1270 BC
- Ust'-Ishim, Ust-Ishim, Siberia, est. 45,000 years old
- NE1, Polgár-Ferenci-Hat, Hungary, est. 5070-5310 BC
Kommentarer
Send en kommentar