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Archiver > GENEALOGY-DNA > 2002-10 > 1033579673


From:
Subject: Re: [DNA] DNA Test for Native American Ancestry
Date: Wed, 2 Oct 2002 13:27:53 EDT


In a message dated 10/02/02 9:25:59 AM Pacific Daylight Time,
writes:


> I've been reading so much on this topic my head hurts and I still can't find
> the answer to my question. I'm trying to find out who's cheek to swab for
> subject test. Mine? My brother's? My father's brother? (My father is
> deceased.)
>
> I am female. My father's father's mother was supposedly Native American.
> Since I have not been able to locate any primary sources to support this
> lineage other than "family story", I'd like the DNA test. In addition, I
> have old family photos of my great grandmother and her siblings, and they
> sure look Native American but then again they could be black.
>
> I've read the lab requirements and it appears that if I can't provide a
> "female to female to female" descendaney swab or a "male to male to male"
> descendancy swab, the results will be invalid. Am I reading right?
>

That's correct for tests using mitochondrial DNA (female line) or the Y
chromosome (male line). None of the people you listed could provide a sample
for mtDNA or Y testing. But -- did your great-grandmother have any daughters
who had daughters? Or did her sisters have daughters who had daughters? If
so, one of them could supply the sample for a mitochondrial DNA test.

There is also a very new company which uses a number of different markers on
other chromosomes to estimate the percentage of your ancestry which came from
different "BioGeographical" origins, including Native American.

If your great-grandmother herself had 100% Native American ancestry and
married a man with 100% European ancestry, then 50% of her son's markers
would show NA patterns. If each new generation marries someone of European
background, that would dilute the number of NA markers roughly by half, so
your uncle would have about 25% of the markers and you would have about
12.5%. Thus if you choose that company, your uncle would be the best person
to test.

A few of us have ordered a test from this new company, but we won't have the
results back for some time. We'll certainly report on how well the theory
translates into practice.

http://www.ancestrybydna.com

Ann Turner
GENEALOGY-DNA List Administrator
http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/other/Miscellaneous/GENEALOGY-DNA.html
DNA preservation kits: http://www.dnafiler.com

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