Are there any ways to test genealogy other than mtDNA and Y-Chromosome?

Let’s say for example my genealogical records say I have a direct ancestor from a certain line in Great Britain and there are birth certificates to show for it, but it’s neither through the direct mother’s mother’s or father’s father’s line? Is there any way to test for that DNA wise, or are we basically out of luck at this point in time with technology?

Yes, but not as easily yet. The mtDNA-based and Y-chromosome tests, as you know, follow the maternal and paternal lineages, respectively. These DNA sequences are nice because they do not undergo recombination (like the autosomes do). In order to associate you to ancestors, you need a large database to search for closest phylogenetic affinities. The large databases available now (as far as I know) have only been set up to follow those two sequences. In a few years, there should be enough data from large-scale SNP genotyping and from whole-genome sequencing to follow autosomal haplotypes.

Family Tree DNA – DNA Testing For Genealogy

Comments are closed