GENEALOGY-DNA-L Archives
Archiver > GENEALOGY-DNA > 2000-12 > 0976149016
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Subject: Re: [DNA] Maternal Native American ancestry
Date: Wed, 6 Dec 2000 19:30:16 EST
I think there's a good chance that mtDNA sequence analysis of the
hypervariable region, performed by http://www.oxfordancestors.com, could
reveal Native American ancestry in a maternal line, although not at a
specific tribal level. Their web site focuses on seven European "clans" where
they have the most information, but their database is quite extensive and
includes mtDNA variants from around the world.
These variants are classified into "haplogroups" based on common patterns
found in various markers
(http://www.gen.emory.edu/cgi-bin/MITOMAP/bin/tbl5gen.pl). A "haplotype" is a
set of genes/markers found close together on one chromosome, so that it is
inherited as a unit with a low probability of crossing over. Mitochondrial
DNA is automatically a haplotype because it's inherited from your mother, and
it's sometimes referred to as a mitotype.
These haplogroup markers are not in the hypervariable region of mtDNA, but
apparently Oxford Ancestors is able to correlate your specific sequence data
with general patterns in their database. FamilyTreeDNA and GeneTree both
offer mtDNA analysis which would be perfectly suitable for matching two
individuals, but I don't know that they are able classify the results into a
haplogroup. I'm sure their representatives will hop in and correct me if I'm
wrong!
There is a map of haplogroup migration patterns at
http://www.gen.emory.edu/MITOMAP/WorldMigrations.pdf
The haplogroups are labeled with letters of the alphabet. Oxford Ancestors
has personalized these letters with feminine names e.g. H is Helena and X is
Xenia. Groups A-D are the ones found in the Americas and also in eastern
Asia.
If several people on the list are interested in mtDNA analysis, it would pay
to get together and submit samples on one order. The first sample is $180 and
the subsequent samples are $144, so that's a significant savings. Perhaps
someone would volunteer to act as a coordinator, maybe with a small "service"
fee for collecting the samples and distributing the reports since there would
be postage expenses if nothing else.
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