 What does the test kit look like?
The value of DNA testing for genealogy lies in the comparison of DNA from different individuals. The DNA from your line will be compared with the DNA from other Elkinses in our project (and other surnames as well). When a DNA match is found we have a high degree of confidence that the two lines are descended from a common ancestor. Each individual may have information that the other does not possess. You may match someone who has their ancestry documented several generations further back than you. The DNA test will not tell you who your ancestor was, or when or where he lived.
Any male with the surname Elkins who knows that he descends from a direct line of Elkins is welcome to test as part of the Elkins DNA Research Project. Y-DNA is transmitted from father to son, so women do not carry it.
To join the Elkins DNA Research Project, go to http://www.familytreedna.com/surname_join.asp?code=G76234&special=true
The greater the number of markers, the more definitive the test becomes. As more people are tested, it becomes more likely that DNA matches based on a small number of markers will be found. The 37 marker test is 'best', simply because more markers are tested. However, we have been able to get adequate resolution with the 25 marker test, and we are recommending that participants begin with that test. You can start with the 25 marker test, and later upgrade to the 37 marker without submitting another sample.
Payment is on a sliding scale depending on the situation. Many volunteers have paid their own way, some have had part of the expense defrayed by other family members, and some have requested partial or full scholarships from the Elkins DNA Research Project. Decisions are made on a case by case basis depending on need � the need of the volunteer to have part or all of his expenses paid and the need of the project for a volunteer in a particular line.
If you join the Elkins DNA Research Project, we ask that you be willing to share your Elkins research and to exchange information with other Elkins folks or their sponsors within the project. Y-DNA testing for genealogical purposes has only been available for about 4 years. Our Elkins project is less than a year old and we are very enthusiastic about the prospect of breaking down brick walls and finding new cousins. Sharing genealogical information helps find the Most Recent Common Ancestors (MRCA) for the various lines.
In addition of knowing that your test was performed by the only lab that discoverers markers and writes Anthropology papers, we offer you to be part of the largest genealogical DNA database in the world. We also have the following unique features, that no other lab in the world offers:
It is also worth mentioning that having performed the largest volume of DNA tests for genealogy purposes, we are are now sponsoring the first study of its kind in the world, which is being done by the University of Arizona, which will update mutation rates vs. number of generations. This landmark study will allow our customers to have new parameters to calculate the Time to the Most Recent Common Ancestor between matches and close matches. (any wonder why our competitors want to 'adopt' our novel markers)
The following paragraphs are quoted from the FTDNA tutorial: "The Y chromosome is transmitted from father to sons. Scientists have identified a small portion, which is passed virtually unchanged. Testing of this portion of the Y chromosome provides information about the direct male line, which is the father, his father, and so forth back in time. The locations tested on the Y chromosome are called markers. Occasionally a mutation occurs at one of the markers in the Y chromosome. A mutation is simply a small change. Each marker has a name, such as DYS# 391, DYS #439 or GATA H4. The scientists classify these markers as Short Tandem Repeat (STR) Markers. The proteins at these marker locations are short repeats. The result for a marker is a count of the number of repeats at the location. The result received for a Y DNA test is a string of numbers, which represent the repeats found for each marker... If two people are identical in all markers except they are off at one marker by 1 point, the genetic distance is 1. If they are off at 2 different markers by 1 point on each marker, then the genetic distance of those two samples is 2. If they are off by 2 points at one maker and 1 point on a second marker, then the genetic distance is 3. Some markers have shown themselves to be more volatile then others and the population geneticists have created a model to account for these �aberrations�. For markers that fall into this category, despite the fact that two people could be separated by 2 (or 3) mutations, the scientific assumption is that the change took place in a single generation (between a father and a son) and therefore it is treated as a single step, despite the fact that more then one �point� separates two samples. Currently the scientists have asked us to classify DYS 464 as following this model. We expect that a few more markers will be placed in that category after the results of the University of Arizona/Family Tree DNA mutation rate study results become available in the summer of 2004. "
Family Tree DNA has a very rigid policy to insure the result of a DNA test will only be released on the authorization of the individual tested. You can read this policy on their webpage.
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