Ancestry DNA Testing for Native American Roots

Ancestry DNA testing is a scientific method of working out a person’s ethnicity by comparing various points on their DNA. A number of Americans are curious about whether they have any native American roots and ancestry DNA testing is one way to work out where you come from, whether it is native American, Indo-European, African or east Asian. In this article we are going to look at how you can use ancestry dna testing to determine whether you have any native American roots or generally where your ancestors are from.

In order to take an ancestry DNA test you can order a home test kit online or through a laboratory that does DNA testing. The normal procedure is to take a swab of the inside of the cheek which will give a good DNA sample for the laboratory to study.

The laboratory may look at the mitochondrial (or maternal) DNA or DNA from the paternal line. If it is looking at the mitochondrial DNA they should study about 400 different points on the DNA, whereas for the paternal line only 25-37 are necessary.

The results you get will probably give you a letter which corresponds to a specific ethnicity, it may also give you percentages of ethnicity – that is, how much Native American, Indo-European, East Asian or African ancestry you have. If it gives you a letter then you can equate your main ancestry based on the following:

H, I, J, K, N, R, T, U, V, W, X: Indo-European

A, B, C, D, X: Native American/Asian

L: African

M, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, O, P, Q, Z: East Asian

P, Q: Oceana, Pacific Islands, Papua New Guinea

N: Australian

The reason that ancestry DNA testing works in discovering one’s native American, African or Asian roots is that part of the DNA remains relatively unchanged through the centuries. This is particularly true with the Y chromosome and so paternal DNA testing requires fewer comparisons as the DNA is passed down from father to son without much significant change.

In conclusion a simple test using swabs from the inside of the cheeks may be used to determine one’s ancestry. If a male is tested and Y-chromosome testing is used, fewer comparisons may be necessary, while if mitochondrial DNA is tested as many as 400 comparisons should be made. Once tested you will either get a results sheet with a letter which indicates a particular ethnicity or you may receive the results as percentages of your ancestry come from the different groups.

Learn more about genealogy test on our site. You'll also find other information such as paternity testing and DNA test labs. GeneticDNATestingHelp.org is a comprehensive resource for people who are interested in genetic DNA testing for paternity, genealogy, or medical reasons. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mandy_Fain