Heritage Album

Has anyone taken part in one of the Family Tree DNA projects?

I ordered the kit from FamilytreeDNA they want $103. Thought I would get feedback here first

Public Comments

1. The folks at FamilyTreeDNA is a very credible organization. They did my mtDNA and my brother Y-Chrome tests. Their customer service group has been quick it getting answers to my questions. Hope this helps.
2. I concur with DeAnne, the FamilyTreeDNA company does 98.5% of all the DNA tests for our Surname Project. They're very responsive to our testers and to questions posed...
3. That is a great price for the 12 marker str Y DNA test. I am assuming this is what they are offering your for $103. Usually it is closer to $150. To answer your question, yes, I have had the Y DNA 67 marker str panel and the backbone snp tests done thru Familytreedna. They have a great reputation in the field. I was not disappointed. Btw National Geographic and IBM are also using FTDNA's lab for their Genographic project. The 12 marker can help test your patrilineal tribal myths of origins/ legends. For example, my father was from India and we look Indian. However, according to our myth of orign, my paternal ancestors came from the Middle East, traveling thru Iran (Persia), to settle in India, prior to 1600 CE. To test this myth/ legend, I approached FamilytreeDNA. The results suggest that my paternal origins are from the Ashkenazi Jews of Bessarabia/ Moldova or possibly the population in Armenia. However, according to the study, less than 1 in 1000 Indians are paternally related to me. In other words, I am 20 times more likely to find someone closely related to me in Bessarabia/ Moldova and Armenia than India. For me that was a big wow and well worth the money I spent on the testing. You can also click on my profile and read more on "about me". If you are looking for a sibling, parent or close relative (cousin/ uncle/ grandfather) then the 67 marker test might be the way to go.
4. I have had both by Mitochondrial and Autosomal done. It is according to what your purpose is. If you are involved in family history and want to match yourself with other family trees to find other ancestors and family members, a test of your Mitochondrial and Y DNA can be a useful tool. Y goes from father to son only. Mitochondrial goes from mother to both sons and daughters but only the daughters pass it on to their children. The number one company doing that type of testing is FamilyTreeDNA http://www.familytreedna.com/ Now, if you just want to get a picture of your reigonal/ethnic background, you would be wasting your money to pay for Y & Mitochondrial testing. One of the companies that only does Y & Mitochondrial advertise that they will help you discover your "deep ancestral roots," but it is only your deep ancestral roots in 2 lines. They will take you back to the beginnings in those 2 lines of your nomadic ancestors and assign you to a Haplogroup. But, you come from a myriad of family lines that will not be a part of Y & Mitochondrial testing. Right off the bat it will leave out a person's maternal grandfather and paternal grandmother. If you get back to your 6xgreat grandparents, you come from 510 individuals. It pyramids as you go back. You get your Mitochondrial from only 8 and if you were male you would get your Y from only 8, leaving out all total 494 people. There is one company that will use your Autosomal DNA to match you with population groups throughout the world. Your total genetic pattern is represented by your Autosomal. Y & Mitochondrial are a tiny part of your Autosomal. This company will not tell you that you are 1/2 of somethiing, 1/4 of something else and again 1/4 of another something else. They will give you your top 20 Match Likelihood Indexes. Also you will have a tribe score which will give you the MLI scores percentile in that population. The company is http://www.DNATribes.com Now, I have found out you don't necessarily get your Autosomal 50-50 from both parents. It is a throwing of the dice how the percentages will land in any one sibling. http://www.searchmytree.com/Inheritance.... I asked DNATribes if my sister with whom I share both parents had the same Autosomal testing and they replied: "Two siblings will each obtain unique results. Family member do typically share some regional or ethnic affiliations, but in some cases matches can vary substantially among siblings." FamilyTreeDNA does Autosomal testing but they would not give me an analysis. I had to send it to DNATribes. I think at one time FamilyTreeDNA did give analysis.