Tracing Roots By DNA
Yesterday, I posted about students, staff, and faculty at the College of Alameda in California getting DNA testing to see what their DNA told them about their ancestry. One of the concerns I had about such testing was its accuracy.
One of the issues regarding results from DNA testing for ancestral origin concerns general human evolution. At some point in evolutionary history, all humans are related to one another no matter what race we currently belong to. Another issue concerns the use of analyzing genetic markers, which are very short segments of DNA with limited information. Furthermore, companies who are offering this type DNA testing rely on data which may not be of the highest quality. (IOL, June 30, 2005)
Two other kinds of DNA analyses for tracing family roots involve studying the genetic sequence of the Y-chromosome or DNA found in mitochondria. The Y-chromosome is found only in men and thus is transmitted directly from father to son. Technically, it should show a clear patrimonial lineage although mutations could change the sequence of DNA on the Y-chromosome at any time.
Mitochondrial DNA is separate from the DNA normally found in the nucleus of our cells. It is passed on only from mother to child (sons and daughters). However the amount of information is limited and there are only about 10 branches on the mitrochondrial DNA tree in Europeans. Even Professor Bryan Sykes of Oxford Ancestors, who offers mitochondrial DNA testing to see what “clan” people belong to doesn’t think the results are very useful.
“It’s all part of increasing your sense of belonging in the world at a time when people feel increasingly disconnected,” Sykes says. “It’s not something you’d think was intrinsically useful.”
Still, there are plenty of people willing to pony up the money and get tested (including readers Chris, cooper, and Qadira). Maybe as the technology improves, we’ll have more data to trace our ancestry via DNA with greater accuracy. Meanwhile, as any genealogist knows, a paper trail can be just as telling.
NB: For more discussion on this topic, see my post: Oprah’s DNA Test.
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POSTED IN: Genealogy and DNA
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