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DNA Newsletter December 9, 2002

Facts & Genes from Family Tree DNA

December 19, 2002 Volume 1, Issue 6

In This Issue


Editor's Corner
In the News: Family Tree DNA announces Reporting Improvements
Holiday Lab Schedule: Closed December 20, 2002 to January 2, 2003
ANCESTRYbyDNA: Personal Anthropology
Understanding your results: Are we related?
Recruiting Participants: Communicating Results
Case Studies in Genetic Genealogy
Genetic Genealogy Advanced Techniques: Identify the Ancestral Y-DNA
Managing a Surname Project: Getting Started
Spot Light: Freeman Surname Project
In the Next Issue

Editor's Corner

The staff at Family Tree DNA would like to wish you Happy Holidays, and Best Wishes for the New Year.

If you have prospective participants for DNA testing that haven't been able to afford the cost of the test, a present of a DNA test might be the perfect gift. This would not only help your genealogy research, but would also be a unique gift for them.

During the Holidays, many of you will be attending family events. These family events are a perfect time to gather information for your Family History research, as well as to share information about this new field of Genetic Genealogy, and what it can do for your Family History research.

The Holidays are also a terrific time to interview family members, and then preserve this information about their lives. Asking them about ancestors they remember is a great way to uncover information about your ancestors as people, and perhaps find clues to help you with your research. Family gatherings may also be an opportunity for you to present information about your DNA project.

We enjoy hearing about the results of your DNA testing. Just jot us a note at editor@familytreeDNA.com

Family Tree DNA would like to thank everyone for their suggestions, comments, and submissions. Your input is appreciated. Send you comments, suggestions, tips, questions, and tell us about your Surname Project to:
editor@familytreeDNA.com. We hope you enjoy this issue.

Happy Holidays from all of us!!!!!!!!!!!!

In the News: Family Tree DNA announces Reporting Improvements

This month at Family Tree DNA, reporting improvements have been implemented. One improvement affects the Recent Ethnic Origin (REO) Database Search, and the other improvements affect the reporting of results for Markers 464a-d.

A search of Recent Ethnic Origins, which searches the Family Tree DNA customer database and the University of Arizona database, no longer shows yourself in the results. The results from the search do not include you, and the results show only those to whom you match or are a near match. It was confusing when you were also shown in the results, and in response to requests from our customers, this has been changed. The new search is implemented for both Y DNA Search, and mtDNA Search.

Two reporting changes have been implemented for Markers 464a-d. Markers 464a-d are copies found at different locations on the Y chromosome. In about 1% of the test subjects, more than 4 copies will be present, representing Markers 464e, 464f, 464g, etc. If those additional Markers are found, they are now shown on the individual's Y-DNA DYS Values page, and on the Group Administrator's Generate Y-DNA Scores page. If these additional Markers are not found, the columns for them in the reports will not appear. At the current time, 7 copies are the maximum number of
Markers found for this DYS.

The reporting of genetic distance for Markers 464a-d has also changed. Previously, when comparing the results for these Markers, each result that did not match was considered a mismatch. With new guides lines from our scientific board, the genetic distance calculation for Markers 464a-d has been revised. Results are always reported from low to high, when reading from left to right. When a mismatch occurs, it must be taken into consideration whether the number of apparent mismatches are a result of the order of presentation of the Markers. The order of the results for these Markers may make it appear as if there are more mismatches than are actually present. Here are two examples:

Results Genetic Distance
 
13 15 16 16  
13 15 15 16 1

 

16 16 17 18  
15 16 16 18 1

In the first example, the mutation did not cause the results to be reordered, so it is very clear that there is one mismatch. In the second example, if a 2 point mutation occured (17-2  15) the loss of 2 repeats caused the results to be reordered. On the surface, it looks like there are two mismatches, but this illusion is caused by the results being reordered, and there is only 1 mismatch, the 17 becoming the 15.
Remember, DYS 464a-d is a highly polymorphic Marker, in fact it appears to be the fastest moving marker in our entire test. (Polymorphic means rapidly changing!)

For Group Administrators, when comparing two individuals results, if it appears that there is more than 1 mismatch for Markers 464a-d, be sure to check the genetic distance report (Members Page of your GAP) to verify the number of mismatches following guidelines by the folks at the Lab for Molecular Science and Evolution at the University of Arizona.

Holiday Lab Schedule: Closed Dec 20, 2002 to Jan 2, 2003

The Lab will be closed from December 20, 2002 to January 2, 2003 for the Holidays. As a result, those kits at the Lab during this time period, or those kits to be sent to the Lab, will experience a delay in results being processed.

In addition, we have started to experience the standard mail delay for the Holiday season, both with kits mailed to participants, as well as those kits being returned to Family Tree DNA. For those who want to have kits for family gatherings or gifts, please place your orders by December 19th to insure that the kits arrive in time, due to the mail service slow down. If placing an order after December 19th, please request Next Day Air shipment.

Family Tree DNA will be closed December 24, December 25th, and January 1st, 2003 for the Holidays. Kits ordered on these days will ship on the next business day.

ANCESTRYbyDNA: Personal Anthropology

ANCESTRYbyDNA is the exciting new Personal Anthropology test developed by
DNAPrint, and now available from Family Tree DNA.

The ANCESTRYbyDNA test will measure a person's Personal Anthropology and their corresponding ancestral ethnic proportions. The result of the test is a report showing your percentages of each ethnic ancestry or major human population group. For example, your result could be 18% Native American, 70% European, and 12% African.

The ANCESTRYbyDNA test looks at SNP's that are diagnostic of a person's continent of origin. SNP's are deep ancestral locations along the human genome. Therefore, the results of this test tells you about your ancestors far before the advent of genealogical records. Therefore, if you receive a result that shows 85% European and 15% Asian, most likely you will not find genealogical records to support this mixture, since the events occurred before written records.

Most people of European ancestry are a mixture of two or more of the major population groups: European, Native American, East Asian and sub-Saharan African. The ANCESTRYbyDNA test results report your mix. If you get a result such as 85% European and 15% Asian, this does not mean that you had an ancestor that was 100% Chinese. What it means is that you had several ancestors who had some component or percentage of Asian ancestry.

The ANCESTRYbyDNA test is a great opportunity to explore your heritage beyond the time of written records. To order the test, click on the link below:
http://www.familytreeDNA.com/products.html#DNAprintorder

Understanding your results: Are we related?

If we start with the fact that all people are related, the issue becomes when did the common ancestor for the two people occur. Regarding our genealogy research, are we really interested in investing time in a link with someone where they are related within 10,000 years? Probably not.

DNA testing is not a substitute for genealogy research. Instead, it is a companion tool to prove or disprove research, determine relationships, and to provide clues for further research. DNA testing can be an extremely powerful tool when combined with your genealogy research. You can uncover information that was not previously known, as well as confirm your research, and get leads for further research.

When analyzing results from the 12 Marker and 25 Marker Y Chromosome DNA test, it is important to factor the time frame of the common ancestor into your analysis. For our purposes here, we will assume a generation is 20 years. The time frame of the common ancestor tells you if the common ancestor lived within the time frame of paper records. Let's consider the example below for Surname Project ABC. The column labeled "# matches" shows the number of matches. The "median" and "95%" columns show the number of generations at the median, and at 95% confidence. The "Years" column gives the year time frame of the common ancestor using 20 years per
generation. The first column under "Years" is for the Median, the second years column is at 95% confidence.

# matches Median 95% Years
  
12/12 14 77 280 1540
25/25 7 37 140 740

11/12 37 122 740 2440
24/25 17 57 340 1140

10/12 61 166 1220 3320
23/25 28 76 560 1520

In our hypothetical Surname Project shown above, we have a variety of matches. The example uses 20 years per generation. If a higher number of years per generation is used, such as 25 or 30 years per generation, then the number of years for the common ancestor increases dramatically. Therefore, at 20 years per generation, we have shown the lowest number of years to the common ancestor.

It is clear in the chart above how a mutation effects the time frame, and that the 25 Marker test reduces the time frame of the common ancestor significantly. This is illustrated by comparing a 12/12 match to a 25/25 match. For a 12/12 match, the median, or most likely, time frame is within 280 years, and for 25/25 is within about 140 years. The 95% confidence level has a wide spread for years, with 1540 years for 12/12 and 740 years for 25/25.

In reviewing the chart above, it is evident that the 25 Marker test is the optimal choice for most Surname Projects. The 12 Marker test can be used to rule out matches where genealogy research is weak, or where there are budget constraints. Where the budget will support a 25 Marker test, and for common Haplotypes, the 25 Marker test is recommended. [For a discussion of common Haplotypes, see previous issues of the newsletter.] "Rule Out" means that a 12 Marker test is being used because the expected result is that they do not match, and a 12 Marker test is cost effective for this purpose. Where a 10/12 or better match is achieved, it is recommended to upgrade to 25 Markers. The chart above shows that if a 10/12 match is upgraded to 25 Markers, and the match still has 2 mutations, the result is 23/25, with a much shorter time frame to the common ancestor.

Many Surname Projects only consider 23/25 matches and better as related, due to the issue of the time frame of the common ancestor. As the time frame increases, there is little hope of finding documentation to support a relationship. Consider a 10/12 match, where the ancestor is within 3360 years at 95% confidence - an upgrade to 25 Markers may prevent spending time pursuing a match that a 25 Marker upgrade shows is a 21/25 match.

It is often disappointing when we don't match another person where it is expected. Even a no match can add value to our genealogy research. We may decide to review the research, or to question conclusions, or to do more research in a local, or focus research on a specific ancestor. A 11/12 or less match is often tempting to pursue, in the hope of being related. A small investment in a 25 Marker upgrade may save a lot of valuable time, and identify those relationships worth pursuing with genealogy research.

Recruiting Participants: Communicating Results

As a Group Administrator for a Surname Project, or as the Leader for your Family DNA testing, it is important to communicate the results of testing to both participants and potential participants. Don't forget to keep informing your potential participants about the progress of the project. Quite often, after being informed several times of the results achieved by a DNA Project, potential participants who declined participating in the past, will change their mind.

Therefore, the goals of communicating results are multi-faceted. Your participants have placed their support and trust with you, and you can continue to build this support and trust by keeping them informed of the results of the project. Their support may be invaluable in the future, perhaps for when additional tests are discovered by the scientists, or helping you with research, or helping you to find or convince a potential participant.

Communicating results to the potential participants provides them with a tool to learn about DNA testing, and perhaps helps to over come their fears, or to see how their participation could benefit the project.

Potential participants concerns can often be over come just by them seeing other people join the project.

It is important to communicate the results in a form that any one can understand, who have no previous knowledge of DNA testing for genealogy. Those whom are Group Administrators and Leaders most likely have learned a lot about DNA testing as well as the terminology. The participants and potential participants are your audience - and most likely do not have the same level of knowledge, and are not that interested in the details. They want to know how the results relate to their Family History. To communicate effectively with your audience, keep the focus of the communication on the interpretation of the results in terms of Family History, and try to use as few technical terms as possible.

One vehicle to communicate results is a web site. Most of you have probably visited quite a few of the DNA Project web sites. How many did you struggle to understand? The mission of communicating results gets lost in the extensive technical explanations. It is understandable that the Group Administrator had become very knowledgeable about DNA testing for Genealogy. The participants and potential participants are not usually that interested in in-depth technical dissertations. The
participants want to know the results and what it means to them.

Maybe it is time to take a critical look at your web site. Does it:

  1. State the objective(s) of the project
  2. Communicate the benefits of participating
  3. Identify the Lines being tested
  4. Provide enough family history information so participants can identify
    their line
  5. Present numerical results in a simple chart
  6. Present an interpretation of the results in the context of genealogy
  7. Identify Lines where participants are needed
  8. Has a limited use of technical terms
  9. Requires no previous understanding of DNA testing for comprehension
  10. Motivates people to participate

It may be difficult for you, as the author, to critically review your web site. You may want to consider asking a friend or relative who has no knowledge of DNA testing for genealogy to review your web site for the above criteria. The more effectively your web site communicates, the more participants you will find.

Another vehicle to communicate your DNA results is in the form of a short newsletter, sent periodically to both participants and potential participants. The objective of your DNA Project newsletter is to keep the participants informed, build their support, and encourage and recruit new participants. You would want to send your DNA Project newsletter to both your participants, and your potential participants.

This DNA Project newsletter could be very short. Most likely you would want to tell the reader about the:

The interpretation of results section is where you present the results of the Project in terms of the Family History. You would be answering the question: What do all the numbers mean?

With Email, it is quite easy to build a mailing list of the participants and potential participants. Periodically, you write your DNA news, and Email it. You also may have some participants or potential participants who do not have email, where printing and mailing a few newsletters may benefit you in the future with recruiting needed participants.

Your web site and newsletter should help your participants understand what their results mean to them and how it impacts their Family History. As the Group Administrator, since you can see all the results, you are in the best position to communicate to your participants what it all means. Depending on the size and scope of your project, you may consider a quarterly or more frequent DNA Project newsletter. For those who don't have the time, you could establish your mailing list, and then mail the participants and potential participants whenever the web site is updated with results.

By sending a newsletter or an email announcing that the web site is updated, you are actively communicating about your project instead of relying on potential participants to revisit your DNA project on their own.

Case Studies in Genetic Genealogy

In each issue of the Newsletter, we look at what Genetic Genealogy will do for your Family History research. This article is a continuation of the topic, with situations, called "Case Studies", followed by a recommendation. The objective of the case studies is to present different situations you may encounter in your family history research, and how DNA testing can be applied.

Case Study

Over the Holidays, I will get to see my Uncle Albert. He is in his late 80's, and the only surviving male in my Line. I am female, and since I can't test myself, I need Uncle Albert to participate. I really want to start a Surname Project. How do I approach him to give me the best odds of succeeding in getting his agreement?

Recommendation

Your approach for Uncle Albert depends on your relationship with him. Let's look at a few possible situations.

  1. You have always been Uncle Albert's favorite niece. In this case, you have the easiest of the situations. Most likely a straight forward, brief, non technical approach of telling him what you want and how it will help you in your Family History research will be enough. He is always willing to help his favorite niece.
  2. Uncle Albert comes to Family gatherings, and just sits there and scowls at everyone. On the surface, this situation doesn't look easy. Maybe he feels left
    out, or has nothing to say, or doesn't feel that anyone would be interested in what he has to say. With scowling Uncle Albert, the key approach is to make him feel important. Hardly anyone can resist feeling important. Present the idea of him participating in the framework of how important his participation would be to both Family History research, and to you. He would be a pioneer in Genetic Genealogy, and get a fancy certificate for participating.
  3. Uncle Albert isn't interested in Family History, and you don't know him well.
    To get Uncle Albert talking to you, try asking him questions about himself. Most people enjoy talking about themselves. If you have trouble coming up with questions, read some articles on interviewing family members. As Albert talks, look for a way to relate DNA testing in a framework he can understand. For example, maybe he mentions his WW II service. Then you could lead into your project by telling him how DNA testing is being used to identify veteran's remains, and that a new DNA test has been developed for people doing Family History. He could "help" you by participating. [People have difficulty refusing a request for help]. Or maybe Uncle Albert mentions wondering about his brother who went to South America in 1950, and he never heard from him again, and he wonders what happened. In this case, you could volunteer your research
    and Internet skills to find out about his brother. In return, ask him to participate in your project.

Regardless of your situation with Uncle Albert, most likely you will pay for the test, since it is your project and to remove this objection. It is recommended that you don't even mention the cost of the test. Your objective is to obtain his participation. In summary:

Genetic Genealogy Advanced Techniques: Identify the Ancestral Y-DNA Result

If the result between two people in a Line or Family Tree has 1 or more mutations, you may want to determine the Ancestral Y chromosome result for your Line. Knowing which of the two or more results for your Line is the Ancestral Result will help in the future when comparing results to other Lines with your surname. Further information about where and when the mutation occurred may also help you identify branches in your Line.

If you identify the source of mutations, you can identify the ancestral 25 Marker result. When the mutation occurred in the more distant past, often the mutation will identify branches, and this information is very helpful in identifying the branch for future participants.

Identifying the Ancestral Y-DNA result or identifying branches by mutation involves testing to identify the origin of a mutation. For example, consider two cousins A1 and D2 that match 24/25, in the following family:
 

Grandfather: G
Sons/Fathers: A, B, C, D
Grandsons: A1, A2, B1, C1, C2, C3, D1, D2

Cousins A1 and D2 have participated in the Surname Project, and they match 24/25. Where did the mutation occur, and what is the 25 Marker result for the grandfather, who is no longer living?

The answer to this question can be determined by testing another participant. The mutation could have occurred with the birth of A, A1, D or D1.

The ideal participant to test is either B or C, if they are still living. If either of B or C is living, test one of them. By selecting B or C, instead of B1 or C1, C2, or C3, you eliminate the possibility that another mutation occurred with the birth of a grandson. You would expect the result for B or C to match either A1 or D2. The result that is a match would reflect the 25 Marker result for the Grandfather, G. In other words, if B matches A1, then this reflects the Grandfathers 25 Marker results, and the mutation occurred with D or D2. If the result for B matches D2, then the mutation occurred with A or A1.

If B and C are deceased, test one of the sons of B or C, who are B1, C1, C2, or C3. In this situation, if you test C2, and A1 and C2 match 25/25, and D2 is a 24/25 match, you can conclude that you identified the origin of the mutation as either D or D2, and the result of A1 and C2 is the grandfather's result.

It is unusual to see a mutation in a current generation, but it does happen. The important factor in the example above is the concept of the approach, and how it is applied. This approach can also be used to identify the origin of the mutation when it occurred in earlier generations. First, a clear understanding of the approach in the above example is required. Then print out a descendency chart for your most distant ancestor. [If your chart is more than 5 generations, you may first want to start by just looking at 5 generations, to make the application of the approach easy to understand.] For each unique 25 Marker result for your Family Tree or Line, assign the 25 Marker result a number or letter. The objective of this step is so that you only need to write on your Descendency Chart a one character Label for a 25 Marker
result, instead of 25 numbers. Write on the Descendency Chart the 25 Marker results you already have, using the one character label.

You then apply the concept in the example above to determine whom to test. If you had 5 generations, your Family Tree may look like:

GG-Grandfather GGG
Great Grandfathers: GG1 GG2 GG3 GG4
Grandfathers: GG1-A GG1-B GG2-A GG2-B GG2-C GG4-A GG4-B
Sons/Fathers: GG1-AA GG1-AB GG2-BA GG2-BB GG2-CA GG2-CB GG2-CC GG4-AA GG4-BA
Grandsons: GG1-AA-A GG1-AA-B
GG2-BA-A GG2-BA-B GG2-BA-C
GG2-BB-A GG2-BB-B GG2-BB-C
GG2-CA-A GG2-CA-B
GG2-CB-A
GG2-CC-A GG2-CC-B
GG4-AA-A GG4-AA-B
GG4-BA-A GG4-BA-B GG4-BA-C

It may be easier to understand this example if you draw a tree to reflect the male descendents above.

GG1-AA-A and GG4-BA-C took the 25 Marker Y chromosome test, and matched 24/25. Where did the mutation occur, and what is the 25 Marker result for the GGG, the Great-Great-Grandfather?

In this example, a descendent of GG1 and GG4 have taken the test. GG3 did not have any male descendents, so you would need to test a descendent of GG2 to draw a conclusion on the 25 Marker result for GGG, assuming you get a 25/25 match between a descendent of GG2 and with either of the initial participants.

Let's assume you test GG2-BA-A and get a match to GG1-AA-A. This 25 Marker result also represents the result for the GG-Grandfather, GGG. A mutation occurred somewhere between GGG and the other participant, GG4-BA-C.

If you want to identify the origin of the mutation, the first step is to identify the branch with the mutation, which was GG4 in the above example, and the second step is to test descendents in that branch until the event with the mutation is identified.

Any place where two sons match, then the father of these two sons would have their result.

Often a mutation identifies a branch of your Family Tree. For example, if a mutation occurred with the birth of GG4, then his descendents would reflect this mutation. When participants have the same mutation, you have identified a branch of the tree where they most likely belong, and can then utilize this information to determine further genealogy research.

Identifying the ancestral Y-DNA result and/or the origin of a mutation could supply additional information for your Surname Project and your genealogy research.

Managing a Genetic Genealogy Project: Getting Started

We often hear from people who want to start a Surname Project, but don't feel that they know enough yet. Our recommendation is to start the Project, and the knowledge will come as you work on your Surname Project, and from your continued reading on the subject of Genetic Genealogy, as well as visiting other Surname Project web sites. Just as you learned about doing Family History Research once you started, the same learning will occur with a Surname Project.

Once your first two participants results are back from the Lab, it becomes much easier to understand the concepts of Genetic Genealogy when it is placed in the concept of your Family History Research. Without the Y-DNA results to use as you learn, it is like trying to learn to ride a bicycle without the bicycle.

It is "not" reasonable to expect to have a knowledge level similar to those who have had a project for a year or more, when you haven't even seen any test results yet. Every Group Administrator has learned about Genetic Genealogy as their project progressed, and even though some sound like scientists today, most of them started with a very limited understanding initially. Regardless of your educational background, you will learn to understand and interpret results in the framework of your Family History as your Surname Project progresses. We encourage you to continue reading Genetic Genealogy material and visiting Surname Project web sites.

Now might be a great time to sign up your Surname Project with Family Tree DNA. During the Holidays there may be family gatherings where you can recruit participants, and you will be ready to kick off your Surname Project in 2003.

Spot Light: Freeman Surname Project

The Freeman DNA Project is in its infancy, and was only started a few months ago. Therefore, this Spot Light is looking at a Project as it is getting started.

The surname Freeman in Colonial times was widely scattered across the American Colonies, as well as Canada. The lack of documents in this time period has made research very difficult. A link to England has not been found for the England Freeman Lines. The surname Freeman, and variants, occurs in England, as well as other countries, such as Germany and France. From this distribution of the surname, it appears to have multiple points of origin.

The Office of National Statistics in the UK reports a current Freeman population of over 33,000 persons in England and Wales. [Reference: http://www.taliesin-arlein.net/names/search.php]

The objectives of the Surname Project are:

The first results are back from the lab, and show that the persons tested represent different Freeman Lines.

In the Next Issue

We hope you have enjoyed this issue of Facts & Genes. Please feel free to contact the editor with your comments, feedback, questions to be addressed, as well as suggestions for future articles. If you would like your Surname Project featured in our Spotlight column in a future issue, please send an email telling us about your project. If you are a Project Manager and can help others with tips or suggestions, please contact the editor: editor@familytreeDNA.com

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We encourage the circulation of "Facts & Genes" by newsletters and lists providing that you credit the author, include our copyright information (Copyright 2002, Family Tree DNA), and cite "Facts & Genes" (http://www.familytreeDNA.com/facts_genes.asp) as the source.

This page was last updated on: June 15 2010