Many Questions About DNA Testing

[davidft]

Thank you for your replies. I decided to begin testing with my maternal grandfather. We decided that the best tests are the ones that FamilyTreeDNA.com offers. BUT... should he do all the tests (autosomal, Y-DNA and mtDNA) or he would find the same information with one of them, or two? (He wants to track his paternal and maternal line)

I am not sure what you mean by you want to begin testing with my maternal grandfather. Is your  maternal grandfather alive, if so you can test him. However if he is not then you have to consider who is alive and who is willing to test.

I think as there seems to be a fair bit of confusion (don't worry the topic confuses most people) that it may be prudent just to start with one test and see how you get on / what data you get back. I would suggest starting with the autosomal test as it is the cheapest test (and least affected by the end of the sale) and potentially gives access to the most ancestors \ relatives.

If after you get the results back and make sense of them you could take further tests in due course (perhaps when there is another sale on). It is suggested by some people that you test the oldest people you can as to put it bluntly they are likely to die first and so they are the most likely to be the person's data that is lost. However testing anyone other than yourself then means you are at best only testing half your tree. Hope that makes sense

[anto97]

Thank you for your replies. I decided to begin testing with my maternal grandfather. We decided that the best tests are the ones that FamilyTreeDNA.com offers. BUT... should he do all the tests (autosomal, Y-DNA and mtDNA) or he would find the same information with one of them, or two? (He wants to track his paternal and maternal line)

I am not sure what you mean by you want to begin testing with my maternal grandfather. Is your  maternal grandfather alive, if so you can test him. However if he is not then you have to consider who is alive and who is willing to test.

I think as there seems to be a fair bit of confusion (don't worry the topic confuses most people) that it may be prudent just to start with one test and see how you get on / what data you get back. I would suggest starting with the autosomal test as it is the cheapest test (and least affected by the end of the sale) and potentially gives access to the most ancestors \ relatives.

If after you get the results back and make sense of them you could take further tests in due course (perhaps when there is another sale on). It is suggested by some people that you test the oldest people you can as to put it bluntly they are likely to die first and so they are the most likely to be the person's data that is lost. However testing anyone other than yourself then means you are at best only testing half your tree. Hope that makes sense

My maternal grandfather is alive and he asked me to order a test but we can't decide which one. He wants to track both his paternal and maternal roots, so if an Autosomal DNA test would cover both sides, it would be perfect. And the other tests seem to be a bit expensive, even if they are very interesting... (In FTDNA, the Y-DNA test upcovers up to 340.000 years!!!) 

[davidft]

OK I see he is alive so in that case I would suggest doing the autosomal test which is also called the family finder test. This test is what is used to find all sorts of close relatives, as said previously it is good back to about 5 generations. It is also the test that is used to determine your ethnic makeup, but again as said previously this is a bit of guesswork sometimes. What this test will not tell you is your maternal or paternal haplogroup but depending on the results you get and what information people share with you you may be able to determine them from others results.

This test costs $79. If you wanted to do the yDNA and mtDNA tests at the same time you could be looking at spending a further $460 or so and as I said previously results can sometimes take a long time to show results it just depends who else has tested and whether they share data with your testee, which is why I suggested the cautious approach of one test first but ultimately the decision is yours.

Good luck

[Deer243]

I'd say to get an autosomal and a Y-DNA test. I've done both types of testing and the Y-DNA test is far better at looking a the paternal line than autosomal. The autosomal test can only detect relatives at a rough guide out to the 5th cousin level and even then it's hard to determine if it is a genuine match and not just "noise".

I haven't done mtDNA testing (looks at the individuals female line) myself but from what I've read online far fewer people have done it and since the surname of females changes every generation (unlike where the Y-DNA follows a surname) it is not as useful for genealogy and it's much harder to find where any matches fit in to your tree.

[anto97]

So, my grandfather will take the Autosomal test and later the Y-DNA. The mt-DNA would be interesting too, as I know his maternal lines are Greek from Asia Minor and I would like to see the result (Would it be mentioned as Greek or as Turkish?) Would it mention years on the maps (I think there are maps on the results). So, every test has its own interest. If only I could afford all of them, but I hope I will take all of them in the far future.

My priority is now my grandparents...

[hurworth]

My priority is now my grandparents...

That's an excellent idea.  We've had to test a few people to try to find out more about a gt-grandfather.  If any of the grandparents were still alive this would be much simpler and cheaper.   

[Ruskie]

I think that the advice for your grandfather to take a "familyfinder "test" is a good one, but keep in mind that any matches you may get will be muddled, so you will not know if the matches come from your grandfather's maternal or paternal sides.

No, you will not get results as specific as Greece or Turkey. Parts of the world are lumped in together under vague terms like "Middle East", "Scandanavia", "Siberia" etc, and Greece and Turkey being so close together there will not be any/much distinction between the two.

You may also find most of the matches will be with people living in America because they are more likely to have taken DNA tests that people living in other countries. I am not sure what the uptake is with people currently living in Greece and Turkey, but I would guess that it's fairly low.

[Kimbrey]

When you have ordered a test with FTDNA and the specimen reaches the lab it will get a "batch number" and estimated date for completion-once you have  the number you can join the "Forums" and ask questions and etc {you can read them without registering but have to register to post questions}I have found just reading the questions and advice given on the various threads useful.

Kim

[anto97]

Thank you all for your valuable and useful replies. I will order the "Family Finder" test in a few weeks and I'm very excited!