ANCESTRY TESTING:

Establishing Relationships Over Generations

Maternal Ancestry Testing

Trace your maternal lineage with mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA).  Mitochondrial DNA is passed down from mother to offspring. Only females can pass on mtDNA.  Individuals that have a common maternal ancestor will have the same mtDNA profile.

Mitochondrial DNA does not change over many generations.  It allows one to seek out very distant relatives if the maternal line is unbroken.  A mother will pass mtDNA on to her children but only the females continue to pass it on.  Why?  Going back to the fertilization process inside the womb, a female egg contains both nuclear and mitochondrial DNA.  A sperm contains nuclear DNA in the head and mtDNA in the tail.  As the sperm enters the egg, its tail is cleaved off, and therefore the tail does not enter the egg only the head does.  The male mtDNA does not enter the egg.  Only the female mtDNA is present in the egg as it grows. 

The Paleo-DNA Laboratory can compare mtDNA profiles to determine if two or more individuals share a common maternal ancestor or not. 

Paternal Ancestry Testing

Trace your paternal lineage (male lineage) with Y-chromosomal DNA.  The Y-chromosome is passed down from father to son.  Individuals that have a common paternal ancestor will have the same Y-chromosomal profile.  For this test, 17 common regions of the Y-chromosome are analyzed.

Y-chromosomal DNA does not change over many generations.  It allows one to seek out very distant relatives if the male line is unbroken.  Y-chromosomal DNA is passed down from father to son.  Why? Looking at the sex chromosomes that determine gender, females have two X chromosomes, males have an X and Y chromosome.  The same Y chromosome is passed on from generation to generation.  The Paleo-DNA Laboratory can compare two or more individuals to determine whether they share a common paternal lineage or not.

Contact us for more information on Ancestry Testing