YDNA
- Kevin McManus
- Dna
- November 26, 2021
Table of Contents
Y-DNA is passed down from father to son
Biological males can have their Y-DNA tested. Y-DNA testing can help you discover and verify your direct paternal ancestry by connecting you with other individuals who are descendants of a shared common patrilineal ancestor.
What is YDNA
Y-DNA is what we call the sex chromosome “Y” that is passed from a father to his sons only, women do not receive a Y chromosome. Testing the Y chromosome allows for investigation into a male’s paternal family line and can help identify surname lines, living relatives whose Y chromosome is similar to yours, and ancient migration routes your paternal ancestors may have taken.
What is Haplogroup
Every male individual who takes one of our Y-DNA tests will also receive their Y-DNA haplogroup. When humans left Africa tens of thousands of years ago, they departed in small groups that migrated into different parts of the world. Over many generations, each group developed distinct mutations allowing us to identify one from the other. We call these groups of mutations haplogroups, and they can tell us which migratory routes our paternal ancestors traveled.
What does SNP stand for ?
Single nucleotide polymorphisms, frequently called SNPs (pronounced “snips”), are the most common type of genetic variations. Each SNP is a mutation or new branch on the tree. The number of SNPs on which people match within a database can be used to tell how closely related they are.
What is a Marker or STR ?
A marker is what we test in our basic Y-DNA tests. These markers are also referred to as STRs (Short Tandem Repeats) which are a series of repeating nucleotides (A, T, G, C). For example: GACTACTACTACTGG - the STR consists of the three repeated CTA segments. Y-DNA tests look for matching markers or “STRs” between two men, if they match, which would indicate a genetic relationship.
SNP Tracker
SNP Tracker Here’s a screen shot of our SNP and it gives our terminal SNP as forming 230 years ago, ie 1791. So, that must put our time of recent common ancestor at least to that date. Michael
