The last couple of days, I've received some questions on DNA. So I thought I would post here what I've been telling people.
DNA testing is going to depend on your goal. And you may not yet know your goal. If you went to the market with the goal of making banana bread, you will go to the produce section. You may see apples (good for pie), oranges (good for juice), and bananas (good for making your bread, as that was your goal). I know that's a bit of an oversimplification, but if you keep that analogy in mind, maybe it will help. There are 3 main types of DNA tests at Family Tree DNA: Y-DNA, mtDNA, and Family Finder (autosomal DNA). The broadest overview of genealogy would be Family Finder. That covers the testee's entire pedigree chart back about 200 years from his/her birth year. My dad was born in the 1930s. So I should expect results that go back to about the 1730s (and because of intermarriage, there's a couple of lines further back, but that's more rare). My DNA only goes back to the 1760s. So that's why I tested my parents too. This test also gives you broad ethnic percentages (90% Western European, 10% Middle Eastern, for example). The remaining 2 types of tests are a more narrow, focused view. Y-DNA focuses on a man's strict paternal line: His father's father's father's line only or the top of his pedigree chart. You need a Y-DNA 37 or 67 to get into a genealogy time frame. This test will also give the haplogroup on that one line: R1b is the most common male European halpogroup. J2 is more indicative of Sephardic Jewish. mtDNA focuses on the testee's strict maternal line: His/her mother's mother's mother's line only or the bottom of the pedigree chart. mtDNA mutates very, very slowly. It's difficult to get a DNA match with a random person. Most of the information is anthropological in nature. It's best used if you and I had a theory that our mother's mother's mother's were sisters and we couldn't prove it. So we both take the mtDNA test and it comes out identical. Then we know our theory is right. However, the very first match in the Azores DNA project with FTDNA was with mtDNA! Both individuals has a really rare mutation. The woman in California matched a man in Brazil! If you want to get started in DNA testing are are unsure where to start, I'd suggest the Family Finder test that has the broadest overview of all the lines of the testee's pedigree chart going back about 200 years. And for this sale, FTDNA has the price of $99! (Instead of $289). Please order through the Azores DNA Project here: goo.gl/TyStn Cheri Mello, Rick Pimentel, and Nancy Jean Baptiste Family Tree DNA Admins (volunteer) Azores DNA Project -- For 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." --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Azores Genealogy" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/azores.
