I just received my father's y-dna results and i am intrigued by the results. Which follow on test do we need?

Question

At genebase.com his haplogroup came back Q from 22 markers. Since his paternal family were slaves we always assumed his paternity was african. And of the Qs, he would have to be Q3 (family was sold from TN to MS in early 1800s so must be native indian clan). If i order up to 40 markers would that add other groups into the mix or the SNP backbone testing develop more definition. It turns out in our oral history that my great grandfather chose a different surname from his siblings after emancipation. It was only in the 1970s that we found them and began combining our family reunions. We have made alot of assumptions about the siblings but don't have any birth records from TN. We have always felt blessed as a family that the owners kept the family together but what if the family was put together and not all birth siblings? I may be getting ahead of myself but what do i do next in terms of testing?

Answer 1

The SNP (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism) test,

would confirm your father's haplogroup, within his haplotype Q. Ordering more markers is only helpful if you want the results for genealogical purposes, to help you connect to other families in more recent times, perhaps where there is no 'paper trail', or maybe there is a different last name. The SNP test examines for mutations which have occured, it will confirm his haplogroup 'Q' and whether or not he is 'Q3', it provides a more precise indication of deep ancestral origins.