Who should take the test?

[Fraser178]

Hello 

I am going to be ordering one of the tests from the Geno 2.0 project pretty soon and I have seen that they recommend a parent/child combination each take the test for a more complete set of end results.
As I am the eldest son with both of my parents still alive and I have a brother and sister, which two of us should take the tests in order for the results to be the most accurate/complete? mother/son, father/daughter, father/son etc.

I understand that the Y-chromosome isnt present in female DNA, so that one of the participants should be male at least. But i just want to make sure who the other family member taking it should be.

regards,

Joel

[davidft]

I am not sure why they would say two people should test, other than of course its double fees for them.

If you test they can test your YDNA, mtDNA and autosomal DNA.

If they test your mother then they will get her mtDNA which should be the same as yours and her autosomal DNA. The latter will be different from yours as it will only be based on her ancestors (male and female) whereas yours will be based on all your ancestors (ie your male and female ancestors that is it includes your father's side).

You may want your mother's autosomal DNA as good matches only go back 6 or so generations

Also reply #14 in this thread may be of interest

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=668966.9

[Fraser178]

Yeah I understand, but I don't mind the extra cost if it'll give me extra information.

I thought it would be either Father/Daughter or Mother/Son.
I think the main reason for the two tests is to distinguish the ethnicity/heritage of either side of the family, so as it would test my mothers autosomal DNA, it would probably be best for the mother/son combination.

[Fraser178]

Do you think the Geno 2.0 test would be the right test to take?

[davidft]

Do you think the Geno 2.0 test would be the right test to take?

I have read the website for the Geno 2.0 test several times in the past and I have never come to the conclusion it would be the best test. (I admit to bias in that I tested with ftDNA)

I think in one of the posts at the top of this board (the stickies) there is a link to a site that compares the different companies and what they offer

[Fraser178]

Alright, thank you I'll take a look

[DevonCruwys]

I think you need to consider why you are taking the test. The Geno 2.0 test is for deep ancestry purposes only. You might like to have a look at the testing comparison charts in the ISOGG Wiki:

http://www.isogg.org/wiki/

[Fraser178]

I'm looking to get the ethnic breakdown that is offered by Geno 2.0, along with the details of the journey out of Africa.
And I thought I'd choose it as it analyses autosomal, mtDNA and Y-DNA
Instead of having to take multiple tests

[DevonCruwys]

It sounds like you are more interested in the deep ancestry aspect of testing. The ethnicity information from all these tests is not particularly helpful. You can see my review of the Geno 2.0 test here:

http://cruwys.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/genographic-results-from-uk.html

They are supposed to launching a new chip some time this year and upgrading their website. The results will no doubt improve over time as more reference populations become available. The journey out of Africa relates to Y-DNA and mtDNA testing. It is really just a story that's atrributed to the haplogroups rather than scientific fact.

If you're getting anyone tested I suggest you get your mum and dad to test rather than testing yourself and your siblings.

If your dad does the Geno 2.0 test then you should get him to transfer his results to Family Tree DNA so that you can use his Y-DNA results to explore your deep ancestry on your paternal line. You would do that by getting him to join the appropriate haplogroup project:

http://www.isogg.org/wiki/Y-DNA_haplogroup_projects

Ideally he would need to take a Y-STR test with Family Tree DNA as well so that he can go in the matching database.