Developing a DNA Testing Plan
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Printouts and online forms will be made available to assist attendees in creating their own DNA
testing plans
Introduction of common situations that encourage DNA testing
o Personalized selection of common genetic genealogy problems
 1. Adoption or unknown paternity for yourself or an ancestor
 2. Ethnicity rumors (my great grandmother is Native American)
 3. Appearing and Disappearing Acts (We cannot trace my ...)
 4. There are several candidates for an ancestors’ parentage in the same place at
the same time. Who are their parents?
 5. General Interest
 6. Other – Audience feedback for other unique situations that do not quite fit
the situations above.
Introduction to Genetic Genealogy
- Four Types of DNA and their inheritance patterns
o Y-DNA
o mtDNA
o Autosomal
o X-DNA
- Three Types of DNA Tests
o Y-DNA
o mtDNA
o Autosomal (including X)
- Three major testing companies
o Ancestry.com
o 23andMe
o Family Tree DNA
Review of Major Testing considerations
1. Adoption and unknown paternity for yourself or an ancestor
a. What tests should I take?
i. Autosomal
ii. Y-DNA
iii. mtDNA
b. Where should I test?
i. The benefits of testing at all three companies
ii. Considerations for testing
1. Foreign or domestic adoption?
2. Foreign or American ancestry?
3. Budget constraints
c. Who should I test (when additional relatives are known)
i. Testing known relatives as filters
ii. Testing the closest descendants (generationally)
iii.
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Single relative representation for direct line tests
Testing multiple descendants in autosomal DNA tests
Avoiding hierarchical relationships in autosomal DNA tests
Identification and testing of unknown possible relatives through personal
research
Questions of Ethnicity
a. What tests should I take
i. mtDNA
ii. Y-DNA
iii. Autosomal (within 6 generations)
b. Where should I test
i. Family Tree DNA for direct line tests
ii. 23andMe for autosomal tests
iii. Ethnicity results for atDNA at FTDNA and Ancestry.com
c. Who should I test
i. Searching for direct line descendants of an ancestor
Appearing and disappearing acts
a. How distant are they generationally? Closer than 6? Further than 6?
b. The importance of reconstructing as much of an ancestors genome as possible
i. Multiple descendants tested from several independent lines
ii. testing known cousins
iii. Advantages of testing siblings
iv. Identifying candidates to take direct line tests
There are several candidates for an ancestors’ parentage in the same place at the same time.
Who are their parents?
a. Direct line tests considerations
b. Autosomal test considerations
c. Seeking out descendants of candidates for testing
General Interest
a. Autosomal DNA tests
i. Fishing vs. non-fishing tests
Other
a. Improv
Additional considerations for test types:
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Autosomal DNA may not detect relationships more distant than 3rd cousins.
Mitochondrial DNA tests are currently not as useful for genealogy due to the size of the
database, take the tests and they will become more useful.
Additional considerations for testing companies:
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23andMe
o Requires additional step of inviting to share genomes with matches
o Typically considered best ethnicity analysis
o Also includes haplogroup information for mtDNA and Y-DNA
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Can provide clues for future research but not always genealogically
significant.
o 20% off each additional kit purchased at the same time (cheapest option for testing
many descendants)
o Large database with worldwide presence
o Assisted collection tube for older testers (a sponge to help funnel saliva)
Ancestry.com
o Does not provide underlying data for analysis
o Requires basic subscription for access to relatives’ trees
o Almost exclusively American database, with some British, Irish, Australian and
Canadian samples
o Can share DNA test results between individuals
o Most connected trees among matches
o New Ancestor Discoveries and DNA Circles
Family Tree DNA
o Scrape test rather than saliva
o Accepts transfers from Ancestry.com ($39)
o Stores samples up to 20 years and available for resampling
o Smallest autosomal database
o Strong presence in Britain and Ireland