(Cross posted to the Azores Genealogy list, the Madeira list, and the Island Routes list. No permission granted to cross-post anywhere else).
I'm going to post some of the notes that I took from Family Tree DNA's (FTDNA) conference in Houston a couple of weeks ago. It will be a general overview, aimed at people who are thinking about using DNA or who are using DNA for genealogical purposes. *Structure of FTDNA:* In this age of transparency, FTDNA explained to us that a couple of months ago they reorganized themselves. They initially started in 2000 with FTDNA. However, stuff about families led to paternity testing. Paternity testing needs to be able to be certified and accepted by the courts (at least in America where I live. I would imagine other countries are similar). And then they branched out further. So the umbrella over FTDNA is Gene by Gene (http://goo.gl/Uxetg). They have 4 divisions: 1) FTDNA: For us genealogists 2) DNA Findings: for paternity and immigration testing for the courts; approved by Homeland Security (in America); AABB certified (for American courts) 3) DNA Trace: for DNA sequencing work for hospitals. Lab certification takes 2 years. They have 1 more year to go. 4) DNA DTC: for next generation sequencing. Research on multiple genomes. *Family Finder (FF):* Most people were tested on version 36. Version 37 is now out. It has 3000+ more Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs). FTDNA has been converting everyone over and it will take another 1-2 months to be complete. So if you tested your DNA you may see some differences in block size and maybe even a couple of different matches. The Population Finder may change slightly too, but the biggest change will be next year in January. See Population Finder below. FTDNA is aware of people who are, for example, 5th and 7th cousins and the prediction is coming out as 4th cousins. That's a lot of us with Portuguese ancestry! They cannot distinguish cousins who are removed since those are myopic events. A 1st cousin twice removed (1C2R) will be predicted as a 2nd cousin and a 1st cousin 4 times removed (1C4R) will be predicted as a 3rd cousin. In Common With/Not In Common With: This is a filter that customers are able to run once they have assigned their match as a "Known Relationship." Soon, we won't have to assign the relationship. Example: You match me on Family Finder, but I don't know how. But if you also match my cousins Shirley and Altino, I have an idea of a couple of lines that you might match. But I don't know if you match Shirley or Altino. So I can either email you and wait for you to answer, or I can assign you as a cousin (probably a "Distant Cousin" since I don't know the exact relationship). You would accept the relationship. Then I apply the filter and I can see who we match in common. Then if "Fred" comes along and tests his DNA and matches me, I don't have to email you again to ask if "Fred" is now on your matches page. I can just run the filter, once he is set as a "Distant Cousin" and he accepts it. What FTDNA is going to is to remove the parameter of assigning the relationship so we can run the "In Common/Not in Common with." We can just run it straight through. (This sounds confusing if you have not had the FF test. And it's confusing even if you have had the test done but not played around with the filters). X Chromosome Browser: Soon there will be and X Chromosome Browser and matching. I understand how this will work for men. Men are XY (X chromosome from mom and Y from the dad). Soon customers will be able to match the X with the FF results and figure out which side of the family the match is coming from. I don't understand how this is going to work for women who are XX. We don't know which X is from mom and which is from dad, unless we have a cousin who tested who happens to have the same X we do. I guess once we figure out how it works with the men, we'll figure it out with the women. Chromosome Browser: Soon we will be able to filter this too. We will have the ability to filter by block. I think it needs to be 4 cMs (centoMorgans) or larger and it must start and end in that block. This goes against what I previously learned about the Chromosome Browsers and how autosomal DNA (FF) is shuffled. They did not have a live example to show us at the conference. So once it's available and I play with my relationship with my mom and my dad and with a couple of close cousins (probably my 2nd cousins), I'll have to let you know. *Population Finder* (part of the FF test): Population Finder 2.0 is coming out in January! The current Population Finder is from data that was in printed academic journals. More populations will be included and faster upgrades too. These new populations are coming from the FTDNA survey they put out a couple of months ago to customers and also from the work of the geneticists on FTDNA's advisory board (Dr. Hammer, Dr. Behar, etc). They will also have Chromosome Painting - matching with Europe, etc. It is similar to 23andMe's. *Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA):* The next generation of mtDNA is coming. Currently, mtDNA is read twice and the results are reported. mtDNA mutates veeeerrrrrrry slowly. Makes it tough to use for genealogy. A heteroplasmy is an area of the mtDNA that is starting to mutate. You can think of it as your teenage years when you got ready for school and you saw that red bump on your face which was a monster pimple by the time you got home. Except the heteroplasmy is only the red bump and it takes hundreds of years for it to become a full fledged mutation. Current technology can detect these heteroplasmies/bumps/pimples when the are about 20% formed. The next generation will be able to detect them when they are only about 2% or 3% formed. And instead of reading your mtDNA only twice, it will read it thousands of times! *Misc. Notes:* FTDNA is running 500 samples a day, every day. The last 5-6 years have seen the greatest rate of change in genetics. FOR THOSE WHO TESTED WITH AncestryDNA (Ancestry.com): You will be able to have your results transferred over to FTDNA. The fee has not been set. This will take place around January or February. Interactive Tour: This is a feature which will help when we get our results back. FTDNA thinks it's underutilized. They want all of us to peruse it (that would be me too). This is going to be revamped sometime in December, along with the personal "My FTDNA" page. My FTDNA page: This is going to be revamped sometime in December, along with Interactive Tour. Advanced Matching: This will be not only in the Family Finder (FF) section, but in the Y-DNA and mtDNA sections under your Matches. Family Tree Viewer (GEDCOM): Currently, customers are only able to upload their direct blood line. They are going to start allowing more room so you can upload your whole Gedcom, including your siblings or great-grandparents siblings, if you like. This is in preparation for phasing your data. Only a few of us can phase our data right now. Phasing is where you can tell which base came from which parent. Example: If I have a CT on a certain location on chromosome 1 and my dad is a CC there and my mom is a TT there, then I know where I got each part from. That's a real oversimplification of what phasing is though. Using some of the more complex examples and then applying triangulation will allow us to narrow down which side of the tree the match is on. DON'T FORGET!!!! The Holiday Sale is on now through December 31st at 11:59 CST! If you had your DNA tested by FTDNA and want a different type of DNA test, log into your personal page. If you have NOT had your DNA tested and have Azorean roots, order here: http://goo.gl/H8QxL If you have NOT had your DNA tested and have Madeiran roots, order here: http://goo.gl/CkmkM If you have NOT had your DNA tested and have Cape Verdean roots, order here: http://goo.gl/mi0MX If you are a part Azorean, Madeiran, Cape Verdean, just pick one of the projects above to order through and then join the others after your order is placed. If you want to test a non-Portuguese line on yourself or another relative and don't know where to order from, contact Cheri off list at gfscherim at gmail.com Cheri Mello Family Tree DNA Administrator (volunteer) Azores DNA Project Acting admin for the Madeira DNA Project -- To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. Follow the confirmation directions when they arrive. For more options, such as changing to List, Digest, Abridged, or No Mail (vacation) mode, log into your Google account and visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Azores. Click in the blue area on the right that says "Join this group" and it will take you to "Edit my membership."
