Mitochondrial DNA can be Useful for Genealogy
But what about the maternal lines? Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) which is passed down from mother to both daughters and sons changes much more slowly than Y-DNA, making it much less useful for genealogical applications. Many use it to identify their maternal haplogroup, or deep ancestral ethnic and geographic origins on the maternal line. But mtDNA can be used as a potential genealogical tool as well. A mtDNA test known as the Full Genomic Sequence (FGS) returns results for all three parts of your mitochondrial DNA - greatly decreasing the time period to your most recent common maternal ancestor when you have an exact match with another tested individual. This can still mean a match anywhere from mother and daughter, to several hundred years ago, however.
I've just learned that my father-in-law's mitochondrial DNA is a perfect Full Genomic Sequence (FGS) match to another tested individual and can't wait to dig into the possibilities. An initial look at our respective trees doesn't indicate a common ancestor, but neither of us has this line traced further than the 1800s. Both trees come from Germany, however, which is a good start!
Comments
I have my FGS but FamilyTreeDNA finds no matches. I understand they don’t search for them, as their database is still too small. Where else can I look for a match?
I also have my FGS (tested by FamilyTreeDNA) and would appreciate knowing where I can check for possible matches.
Sharon and Brenda – You may want to consider uploading your mtDNA results to the public mtDNA database MitoSearch (http://www.mitosearch.org). That’s where I found my father-in-law’s FGS match.
My Mitochondrial DNA came back with a deep ancestrial ethnic origin. It shows I have Native American Ancestry on my mother’s line. The report has a map of possible migration to America based on what is now known.
I did my mtDNA with FamilyTreeDNA also but it was only the 37 count search. Is it worth upgrading to the FGS series? My uncle also had his done and am wondering about him also. I would appreciate any advice. Thank you.
Have you posted your results to Mitosearch? http://www.mitosearch.org/ . I’m not aware of any other mitochondrial DNA databases open to the public.
If you google Sorensen DNA, you can find the link to a mormon-run database that includes many thousands of non-mormons’ dna information. You can search it for free for matches.
You can go to genetree.com, register for free, and import your results or manually enter them.
It turns out that somebody in customer service there matches me in both HVR1 and HVR2, LOL! Our pattern is rather uncommon for western Europe.
By the way, I got email last night that ftdna.com is offering a big discount on a FGS upgrade. An aggressive discount applies until Oct 30, then a new permanent discount will apply Nov 1 and after.