Which is the BEST 'DNA' co.to find out who and where,etc. about myself?

Question

I've been told many storys about my family,in fact,too many stories.

I really want to put this to rest.

Your help is appreciated.

Answer 1

FamilyTreeDNA.Com and SMGF.  Put either in your search engine.

Now, you need to understand how they work.  Y & Mitochondrial are used because they go back in a straight line virtually unchanged.  Usually you need someone else's DNA to compare it with.  If there is a surname project for your name using DNA, it can be useful there.

Y DNA is passed from father to son only.

Mitochondrial DNA is passed from mother to both sons and daughters but only the daughters pass it on to their children.

Most of your DNA is autosomal.  You get it 50-50 from both parents.  It is the only DNA that relates a female to her father or anyone to the spouses and their families of their direct Y & Mitochondrial lines, except for their own parents.

If you are interested in ethnicity percentages, you won't necessarily get anything specific.  They will show Northern European etc.  The only way you can get accurate percentages is using autosomal DNA.

If you get back to your 6xgreat grandparents, barring any duplicates, you are directly descended from 510 individuals.  Of those 510 individuals you have received your Mitochondrial DNA from only 8 and if you are male, your Y DNA from only 8.  You get your autosomal DNA from all 510.  Autosomal is the DNA that determines your physical characteristics such as pigmentation, height etc.

Right now autosomal is not used in matching family trees as that is very complicated.

http://www.familytreedna.com/

http://www.smgf.org/pages/how_it_works.j...

FamilyTreeDNA is the oldest and has the largest database.

SMGF is free and it will take about 6 months for your results to be posted online which you probably won't understand but they have contracted with GeneTree to do that. It only cost me $19.50 to have GeneTree interpret by Mitochondrial line and show me matches to other trees.

They won't send you a report.

Answer 2

Familytree DNA is by far the best. Ethnoancestry is also good. They have been a major player in discovering new snp especially related to deep ancestry. I'm not impresses with SMGF at all. The person who posted you first must have been lucky to get his results in 6 months. I have been waiting 2 1/2 years. So far I have gotten only results on 9 markers out of a possible 30+. Of course I already know the results of 67 markers thanks to FTDNA. Got the results in three weeks. Go with FTDNA.

Answer 3

http://www.familytreedna.org

DNA testing cannot show which country, or ethnicity in recent history someone was from, and obviously it cannot give you a name.

A DNA test can show, approximately, your ancestors trail through the world since the evolution of your first ancestor, because you are female a test of your Mtdna will not show any paternal line at all, only the possible origin of your mother, her mother, your great grandmother etc., etc. You do not carry your father's Y-DNA and, either he, your brother, father's brother, or your father's father, or a male cousin on your father's side, would need to be tested to show your father's genetic origins, it cannot show which tribe someone was a member of, only that Native American is, or is not, in your father's lineage.

Below is a reply I have given to a similar previous question, dna cannot tell you which country you originated in, only the probable area, or areas of the world your ancient ancestors passed through during their evolution.

Human cells contain 23 pairs of chromosomes: 22 pairs of autosomes, and one pair of s*x chromosomes. Females carry a pair of X chromosomes that can swap, or recombine, similar regions of DNA during meiosis. However, males harbor one X chromosome and one Y chromosome, and significant recombination between these dissimilar s*x chromosomes does not occur. Therefore, the non-recombining region of the Y chromosome (NRY) remains largely unchanged over many generations, directly passed from father to son, son to grandson, and so on, along with genetic variations in the NRY that may be present. Scientists can use genetic variations, such as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), on the Y chromosome as markers of human ancestry and migration.

It is very effective and the best companies will retest until they get a conclusive result.

If you have, say, just the first 12 markers tested($149 with FTDNA), that will give an indication of where you originated, the more markers you test on, the more information is gained ( for mtdna, your suggested geographic origin and your maternal deep ancestral ethnic origin, $129 with FTDNA) if you test on the maximumum of, say 67 markers ($349 with FTDNA), it is possible then to find a match to someone else carrying your own, or a different surname, and to prove a link where perhaps no "paper trail" exists. It can therefore pinpoint a place in which your ancestors probably lived in recent history but DNA does not, obviously,

have a surname attached to it, surnames have only been used for around 700 years and of course your DNA originated 10s of thousands of years ago. You can also have a SNP test which will help show the migratory pattern of your ancient ancestors, having said that, you can join a Surname project (e.g. with FTDNA) and receive discounted prices on your tests.

I recommend that you make yourself aware of the various tests available, and the costs with each testing company.

Plus, check out what is available to you after you have tested.

I used Family Tree DNA ,they were the first in the field (founded in 1999), have the largest data base, and do the testing for the National Geographic's Genome project, their "after sales" is excellent and I consider they are the best, but you have to make your own decision on that.

http://www.familytreedna.org