Do More DNA Test Markers Matter? | Genetic Genealogy Explained

[@Sibollewellyn]

Thanks for the explanation, great info!

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

You're welcome

[@TomFarrell63]

With Y-DNA, I think the potential varies somewhat for each person. But, there is a point for each of us, when we come to diminishing returns. The point when a more expensive test, higher markers, a fancier name for your grouping; doesn't really tell you any more than you already know. Thank you for the video.

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

The nice thing about not being paid by any of the testing companies, is I can tell people when getting a test isn't worth it.

[@standwithcampbell1646]

Hello. We did a Y37 DNA test for my father however it came back with results only on the Y12 marker but with extra markers as Ive been told. Why would this be? Everyone who views his DNA is telling me it's very unique but I'm having difficulty understanding the "why". This appears to be what is causing controversy and I'm just not understanding what's so special. DSY459 9-9-9 DYS464 15-16-16-16-17-17 CDY 38-37-37

[@seanmcguire7974]

I wish they still had the 67 test. Instead its 37 or 111. 111 is big bucks

[@seanmcguire7974]

I think I'm gonna take your advice on the ydn test. I'll get the 37. N if I need to up grade. I wish they had 67. It's a big jump in money from the 37 test to 111 test.

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

Yeah, its too bad that they don't have that anymore.

[@joshuahayden6721]

A couple of questions. Should I disregard "exact matches" at the 12 marker level, if they don't match at 37 markers? Also, If I have a match at 37 markers who is a genetic distance of 2, at 67 he is 3, and at 111, he is 5, Should I consider him a close match or not? One match, who matches me at 37 and 67, falls off completely at 111 markers.

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

Yes, to the first question, No, he wouldn't be a close match. Some may not show up at 111 because they haven't tested at 111

[@Robloxfrog1]

Hi, I took the Y37, and my predicted Haplogroup is R-M198 but my matchings on Genetic distance 1,2,3 and 4 a are from Haplogroup R-M512,I do not understand that, can you help me explain that, and how close is Genetic Distance 1? Thanks

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

R-M198 and R-M512 are close branches on the haplotree. At Y37, not many markers were tested and so the haplogroup assignment is not precise.

[@میجسٹکخان]

@@FamilyHistoryFanatics I upgraded to Big Y

[@truthsofisrael2677]

I did a ydna test with 23andme and my paternal.haplogroup was E-CTS99, are you saying that my haplogroup can actually come out differently if i take a bigger test with ftdna?

[@javi3r5ito]

PaternalXY and maternalXX have different haplogroups. Only malesXY have both. Women only have maternal XX.

[@johnross8939]

Yes, the Big Y700 will test more of the Y chromosome than the autosomal DNA test did. You'll probably discover your true haplogroup is more recent than (descended from) E-CTS99. If you want 100% of your Y chromosome tested take a WGS test.

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

Yes because not all of the haplogroup markers have been tested.

[@dawnschiller8650]

I'm trying to figure out where in germany my family came from. My last name is very prominent in 2 areas, central germany and again near the french border, alsace. To compound the problem, the name is also found in England and again in Norway. Will a Y-DNA test help me triangulate in on the location of my ancestry??

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

It depends on if enough other people with the same Y chromosome as you have also tested. But remember, this is still just one line of your family tree.

[@annewandering]

My son did the 37. He got no matches. Is it worth doing the 67?

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

No. You will still have no matches and less money. Wait a year or two and see if any matches appear (genetic distance of 0 or 1). If so, then it might be worth getting the 67.

[@mimichalek]

When measuring the genealogical distance, is it worth lowering threshold for cMs? I may have a match with 3 larger segments, totalling in 56 cM, the largest segment being 20. But if I lower the threshold to 2 cM, the total shared cM is 340? Since I had significant cMs in the first place, can I assume the remaining lower cM segments should be taken into account when looking at the genealogical distance?

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

The debate on this is still out, although from everything I have read it leans to ignoring the smaller segments.

[@mimichalek]

@@FamilyHistoryFanatics Yes, I understand that those smaller matching segments might be random, and we might all have a shared cM somewhere, yet I do not see any obstacles to make an assumption that the probability of the smaller segments are significant in measuring a gen. distance.

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

With smaller segments, it is much more likely that the match is jumping between each parental chromosome rather than staying on a single chromosome. This is more likely to happen if both of your parents were from the same broad group (i.e. Western European). 23andMe and AncestryDNA both have done some research on small segments and concluded that they should not be included because they are overwhelmingly false matches.

[@emerson1932]

Thank you very much for the clear info, I've been searching for answers for a while!

[@FamilyHistoryFanatics]

You are welcome! Keep coming back for more videos.