Recently, by utilizing the Big Y test, an advanced specialized test that scans the majority of the Y chromosome for mutations, the haplogroup C tree was extended by several branches at Family Tree DNA. Y haplogroup C arose in Asia and subgroups are found today in parts of Asia, Europe and among Native American men. To receive a more refined haplogroup, additional tests are available ( individual SNPs, SNP panels and the Big Y), which confirm the original haplogroup assignment and give you the opportunity to find the smallest branch of the haplotree upon which you reside as a leaf. They are basic in nature, but detailed enough to identify the continent where your ancestors are found as well as sometimes identifying groups like Jewish or Native American. Haplogroup predictions from Family Tree DNA are very accurate. In the following example, the gentleman received haplogroup C-P39 as his haplgroup prediction. If you take any Y DNA test at Family Tree DNA, you will receive a haplogroup prediction. While the Y DNA is passed intact with no admixture from the mother, occasionally mutations do happen, and it’s those historical mutations that form clans and branches of clans as generation after generation is born and continues to migrate to new areas. Haplogroups and their branches can identify certain groups of people, such as people of African descent, European, Asian, Jewish and Native American. Haplogroups have a history and a pedigree chart, just like people do. Think of a haplogroup as your genetic clan. Let’s take a look!Įveryone who tests their Y DNA at Family Tree DNA receives a haplogroup assignment.
Want to see how this works? Family Tree DNA provides 13 great tools for every Y DNA customer. Y DNA testing is a great way to determine which ancestral line of a given surname a male descends from. For men looking to identify their paternal line, Y DNA testing is extremely powerful! Of course, that means females can’t take Y DNA tests, so they have to ask a family member to test who carries the Y chromosome of the line they are interested in.īecause the surname doesn’t typically change for males between generations, this test is particularly powerful in identifying specific lineages of the male’s surname. The Y chromosome is what makes males male, so females never inherit a Y chromosome. Y DNA is never mixed with the mother’s DNA, so the Y DNA of the blue line of ancestors above remains unbroken and intact and the Y DNA is passed from father to only their male children. Y DNA a special type of DNA that tells the direct story of your father’s surname line heritage – all the way back as far as we can go – beyond genealogy– to the man from whom we are all descended that we call “Y line Adam.” In the pedigree chart below, Y DNA is represented by the people with blue squares – generally the surname line. If you aren’t a male, you can’t directly test your Y DNA, because you don’t have a Y chromosome, but that’s OK, because your father or brother or another family member who does carry the same Y chromosome (and surname) as your father may well be willing to test.
If you’re like most genealogists, you want to know every single tidbit you can discover about your ancestors – and Y DNA not only tells males about people they match that are currently living and share ancestors with them at some point in time, but it also reaches back beyond the range of what genealogy in the traditional sense can tell us – past the time when surnames were adopted, peering into the misty veil of the past! Have you ever wondered why you would want to test your Y DNA? What would a Y DNA test tell you about which ancestors? What would it mean to you and how would it help your genealogy?