Comments on: Genetic Genealogy and the Chinese

By: ds

ds — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 19:52:22 +0000

I have to say, for me personally, Genetic Genealogy is one of the most interesting things to do. B/c it gives one the information about “where one comes from.”

For example, my own Y-chromosome is of haplogroup E3b-V22!! See

http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msm049

for the distribution of E3b-V22 (E1b1b1a3*, formerly E3b1a3*) in different populations. Of course, only a small number of people (20-300) was sampled in each population, but still, the distribution patterns are very interesting. It will be fun to correlate the geographic distribution of specific haplogroups with specific historical events.

By: Blaine

Blaine — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 19:31:18 +0000

Kristina, I’ve been unconsciously working on Hsien to get her to try genetic genealogy for a while now! I think she’s getting closer and closer! I feel that the unknown aspect is a real divide – some people are excited by the prospect of unexpected results, while others are cautious. There certainly isn’t any right or wrong – it’s a very personal choice that should only be made after some research and education.

By: Hsien-Hsien Lei, PhD

Hsien-Hsien Lei, PhD — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 19:25:22 +0000

ds, Thanks for the additional info. I focused more on ancestry/haplogroup testing in this post simply because I don’t really think there are enough data from Asians to have much chance of reconnecting with distant relatives. Perhaps I’m wrong but that’s the impression I get.

By: Hsien-Hsien Lei, PhD

Hsien-Hsien Lei, PhD — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 19:23:28 +0000

Thanks for sharing your results, Rob! Fascinating to imagine what your ancestors may have been up to in ancient history.

By: Hsien-Hsien Lei, PhD

Hsien-Hsien Lei, PhD — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 19:22:47 +0000

Derek, I think Rob brings up an interesting point which is that you can get more detailed SNP analysis done to help you match with others in the database. Genealogists look for that so they can fill out their family tree. If you’re more interested in ancestry, however, then a Y-DNA test may not be quite so exciting.

On the other hand, although admixture DNA testing (looking at autosomal DNA) is controversial, many people find those results interesting as well.

By: Hsien-Hsien Lei, PhD

Hsien-Hsien Lei, PhD — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 19:20:37 +0000

Kristina, It’s like one of those things where we’re pretty sure what kind of answer we’re going to get (which would make the test somewhat boring) but…at least for me, a little afraid of getting something unexpected!

By: Hsien-Hsien Lei, PhD

Hsien-Hsien Lei, PhD — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 19:19:34 +0000

Hi Nick! That’s an interesting statistic. From my own experience, Chinese people are already very aware of regional differences so having genetic data to support that would not be too surprising or controversial. And sadly, Chinese people can also be just as, if not more than, biased than everyone else….

By: Rob

Rob — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 17:36:49 +0000

Well Derek, my male ancestors are from the German Rhineland and I well expected to test with a common northern western European haplogroup such as R1. However, it tested as a southern mediteranean European J2. I had the deep sub clade testing done and this revealed even more. It gave me a marker, M102, that has its highest concentrations in ancient Macedonia Greece and north central Italy. So, one possible explanation for this is that the Romans garisoned legions from both these regions in Mainz Germany which was the capital of the Roman province of Germania Superior. And, my male German ancestors were from a place close to Mainz.

By: ds

ds — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 15:24:38 +0000

Hi Hsien, it maybe that USA/UK based testing companies have currently a relatively small amount of Y-DNA & mitochondrial DNA results from Asian customers in their databases to help a new customer find matches. However, anyone on the Planet can test his/her DNA with these companies, so every time someone new, regardless of which ethnic group, tests him/herself, more information will be available to everyone else!

There are in fact 2 aspects of genealogical DNA testing: (a) one’s haplogroup tells one one’s ancient migration route from East Africa to whereever the grandparents were born. This is of course a much more detailed, and thus interesting, journey, than the straight & simplified arrows on the world map. (b) By comparing one’s haplotype (http://www.ysearch.org & http://www.mitosearch.org) with those of other people, one can reconnect with (far) relatives.

Please note that Family Tree DNA offers a small discount if one first joins any project, see point 9.) here:

http://www.dirkschweitzer.net/DNATests.html

Also, everyone who tested via the Genographic Project is highly encouraged to transfer his/her results to FT-DNA, see point 10.).

By: Derek

Derek — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 14:47:05 +0000

Hi Hsien, I don’t understand the craze for genealogy. I submitted my DNA for genealogical analysis, (as I was offered a free test) and was told that I belong to haplogroup R1 (basically common British) — well, I could have told anyone that without a test. As for any continued research based on male ante-cedents or surnames, I already know for sure that I am descended from a line of females that were lax about matching surnames with biolgical fathers, so I don’t see any reason to pursue that route. It seems genealogy makes more sense for a “melting-pot” society like the US, rather than the more homogeneous society that Britain was when I was born. Maybe I should post to Blaine and ask him what point there would be in looking any further.