IRISH-AMERICAN-L Archives

From: Phyllis <>
Subject: [IRISH-AMER] The Irish - A Most Beautiful Culture
Date: Sat, 03 Feb 2007 12:12:56 -0600
References: <mailman.1062.1170403381.32133.irish-american@rootsweb.com>
In-Reply-To: <mailman.1062.1170403381.32133.irish-american@rootsweb.com>

I think I mispoke, and used the wrong word. I see what you mean about
"diluted." What I meant is that the Y-DNA gets mixed and traits are
dropped, added, depending on the recessiveness or dominance of the trait.

So that brings up another thing, that is that there is a difference in
speaking about the dna that is used for genealogical matches, and the
dna that transfers certain traits. I'm not all that up on what that
difference is, but I know that they are different. Maybe someone can
speak to that?

And, I think it is important to say here, that dna testing is but one
more tool for the genealogist. It is not the only one! It's just the
most advanced technologically speaking. It is an important tool, in my
opinion, for people who may be adopted, or for other reasons have no
clue about their ethnicity. It adds icing to the cake for people who
know their ethnicity and through dna can determine which sept, clan,
haplogroup they belong to, even the common ancestor they share with
someone else. It just depends on how much you want to know about your
ancestry. For some, it's enough to know their immediate families,
others want to know more, and for many it can become an obsession. To
know where and who you came from is to know about yourself. There is a
certain longing to belong, I think, that is inherent with being human.
Even animals seek out others of their own kind.

I think Irish descendants have this longing even more than other
ethnicities. Wonder why that is? Is it something bred into our genes?

Whoever the Irish are, wherever they got their genetic makeup from, they
have produced a most beautiful culture.

Peace
Phyllis



>Phyllis wrote: QUOTE: <It's true that Y-DNA is "diluted" after so many generations. But
>depending on the number of markers tested and compared, it is still a
>pretty good predictor of possible paternal ancestry. It can't "name" a
>person as a male's paternal ancestor, it only shows who, in his
>lineage, could have been a common ancestor to another person with the same
>results as his.>
>
> I'm not sure, but this sounds to me like you're suggesting that the Y-DNA is fragile, whereas I thought that the mtDNA is the more fragile one. As it is, the whole Y-DNA sequence is not diluted...it is only certain markers within the sequence that are subject to "rapid" mutation. Scientists know which markers these are, and you can see this information within the Family Tree DNA site.
>
>

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• [IRISH-AMER] The Irish - A Most Beautiful Culture by Phyllis <>