Family Tree DNA released a cool new video for everyone who has taken the full sequence mitochondrial DNA test.
I signed in today and discovered this nice little gift.
I clicked, and the first thing you do is to answer a few questions to generate your video.
After selecting a drawing of an avatar, you’ll move on to a couple of questions. Note that you cannot change your answers, so if you eventually want to share on social media, be sure the names and location is something you’ll be comfortable with.
After you click submit, your video takes a few minutes to generate.
You’ll receive an e-mail when the video is ready.
Now, just click on the very same link on your account.
My video was 4 minutes+ in length and began by showing me how mitochondrial DNA is inherited.
Next, the video explains the concept of our ancestor, Mitochondrial Eve.
I must say, the speech is synthetic, and I chuckled every time I heard it say mitochondrial.
The video does a good job of describing the concept of a haplogroup, then proceeds to explain your base haplogroup – J in my case.
Next, your specific haplogroup, J1c2f for me, and where it’s found in the world.
Hapogroup frequency is shown as well as the range, on a map.
One cool stop on your journey is your relationship to a notable figure, even if it’s distant.
King Richard III, whose skeleton was found under a parking lot, also descends from haplogroup J. Who knew!!!
The video provides some quick examples of how to understand your matches and explains mutations. My Swedish matches were really unexpected, given that my ancestor was found in Germany. There’s a story there waiting to be told!
Next, the video encourages people to sign in to view their matches when they receive match notification e-mails. Each match holds the promise of a new discovery.
Last, you have an option to share your video with family and friends on social media.
Here I am on Facebook.
Pretty cool.
The Great Thing About Mitochondrial DNA
The great thing about mitochondrial DNA is that results apply to several people in your family. You, your siblings, your mother and your mother’s siblings all share your maternal grandmother’s mitochondrial DNA – so the information is something that pertains to lots of people – not just you. Unlike autosomal tests, one of you can take a mitochondrial DNA test to represent everyone, so it’s a great value.
- If you have taken the full sequence mitochondrial DNA test, just click here to sign in and generate your video.
- If you’ve taken the HVR1 or HVR2 lower resolution test, you can upgrade to the full sequence by clicking on the upgrade button in your account and you’ll receive your video automatically when your full sequence results are ready.
- If you haven’t yet tested your mitochondrial DNA, it’s the story of your matrilineal line – and it’s a great time to order your mitochondrial DNA test. Mine held surprises I’d never have guessed. Just recently I matched someone from the neighboring village to where my oldest known ancestor in that line lived in Germany in the 1600s. Her genealogy may help identify my ancestors too.
Click here to order.
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