My DNA Results

Introduction

Explanation of the DNA Project

First, I want to point out the DNA Menu of pages is at the bottom left above the my calendar.

I participate in the DNA project with Family Tree DNA, to identify genetically connected ancestors, specifically Walkers. The Walker DNA Project page is located at Walker DNA Results. DNA is basically a substance that carries genetic information in the cells of all plants and animals. I have paid for having 137 markers difined in hopes that other Walker descendants will connect to our Walkers through their own DNA contribution. The testing is done for 12, 25, 37, 69, 111 and 137 markers. A marker is a physical location (locus) on the chromosome.

DNA is short for deoxyribonucleic acid and was discovered in 1944 as a method of determining who each individual person, animal or plant is by reading the DNA strands and defining their characteristics. Reading DNA strands for genealogy has provided a quick and easy method of defining who our ancestors were by comparing one person's DNA to another person.

The X or Y sex chromosomes are the primary characters in this discussion. Normally males have one X and one Y and females have two Xs. The X chromosome is passed down from mother to child and is the sex chromosome that is present in both sexes, singly in males and doubly in females. The Y chromosome passes down from father to son. Females do not receive it. As the Y chromosome is passed on through the paternal line, it is valuable for surname based genealogy studies. Your direct paternal lineage is the line that follows your father’s paternal ancestry. Your Y-chromosome DNA (Y-DNA) can trace your father, his father, his father’s father, and so forth. It offers a clear path from you to a known, or likely, direct paternal ancestor.

Your direct maternal lineage is the line that follows your mother’s maternal ancestry. This line consists entirely of women, although both men and women have their mother’s mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). This means that fathers do not pass on their mtDNA to their children. Your mtDNA can trace your mother, her mother, her mother’s mother, and so forth and offers a clear path from you to a known or likely direct maternal ancestor.

A generation is the number of years between the birth of the parents and the birth of their children. Different studies use different numbers of years per generation. Family Tree DNA uses 25 years. However, for Time to the Most Common Ancestor (TMCA) calculations, it is the number of generations that is important.

You will see the term "haplogroup" in the charts. It is a major branch on either the maternal or paternal tree of humankind. Haplogroups are associated with early human migrations. Today these can be associated with a geographic region or regions. A haplotype is the set of values for a set of DNA values. For example, the results of the Y-DNA12 test for one person is their haplotype. Two individuals that match exactly on all markers have the same haplotype.

An exact match is when two people have exactly the same results for all markers or regions compared. In the "matches chart", you will see the term "genetic distance". The meaning of "Genetic Distance" is the number of differences, or mutations, between two sets of results. A genetic distance of zero means there are no differences in the results being compared against one another, i.e., an exact match. This is the meaning when talking about Y-chromosome DNA.

I hope this helps when you peruse the pages.
Bryant