DNA Consultants Home of the DNA Fingerprint

Have you ever thought of giving someone a DNA test? Many of our customers have discovered the value of doing so. It can make a memorable present, one that special someone in your life will enjoy for many years to come. Here are some examples of gift-giving that will earn you enduring appreciation.

• You've taken the DNA Fingerprint Test yourself (and maybe even the 18 Marker Ethnic Panel enhancement to it). Now give it to your spouse. You may discover an ancestral basis for your attraction! 
• Our autosomal tests are the only way for someone to discover their genetic background if they are adopted or their biological parents are unavailable. The DNA Fingerprint Plus is the most informative ancestry test on the market. It is available only from DNA Consultants. 
• Other tests are limited to sex-linked lines like the father's Y chromosome and mother's mitochondrial DNA. Females do not carry their father's Y chromosome. To determine their father's ethnicity they may choose to have a DNA Fingerprint done both on themselves and their mother (or maternal aunt/uncle).  By factoring out the mother's side of the family, they are left with a picture of their father's ethnicity. As always, we can help you interpret the results.
• We offer sex-linked tests, too. If you've taken an autosomal test like the DNA Fingerprint Plus, you may be ready to purchase the Premium Female or Premium Male. These come together in the Premium Combo. They give you the maximum information for genealogy, as opposed to genetics. 
• If your Native American ancestry is not in your mother's mother's mother's (etc.) line, you cannot verify it with mitochondrial testing such as with the Native American Test. You must look instead to autosomal testing, which examines all lines. Our DNA Fingerprint is very sensitive. According to our customers, it is capable of finding small amounts of Native ancestry that were hidden or lost in their family tree. Moreover, the 18 Marker Ethnic Panel has two markers that are Native American. This test acts as a Yes/No answer. If you have a Native American marker from either parent, then you have some ancestry of that ethnicity -- probably in the past 200-300 years. Customers often share with us their joy in confirming something they have tried in vain to prove in the past.
• And if you can't find something of interest on this list, check out our Biological Relationship Tests, the new DNA Archiving Card for permanent storage of a person's DNA,  or Books and Literature for sale. Our small bookshelf includes Peoples of the World, an Album of Ethnic Types, by Principal Investigator Donald N. Yates.  

Some of our customers, particularly those who volunteered for the project, will remember that we tested 40 people with suspected or known Melungeon ancestry. The study was the first to attempt to validate the DNA Fingerprint Test for determining overall ancestry. We are pleased to announce that the validation study using Melungeons, co-authored by Donald N. Yates and Elizabeth Caldwell Hirschman, was accepted for publication by Appalachian Journal. It should appear sometime after the first of the year.

Toward a Genetic Profile of Melungeons in Tennessee

Abstract

The only previous attempt to validate the probabilistic prediction of ethnicity by OmniPop found a margin of error as large as 20% in identifying whether random samples were to be classified as "White" or "African American."

The authors took a more comprehensive approach based on case studies within a single mixed population. Using a convenience sample of 40 self-identifying Melungeons (a tri-racial isolate population in the southern Appalachian Mountains), the authors analyzed and compared their OmniPop and ENFSI results. Several test subjects were part of an extended family, so it was possible to judge the consistency of results both latitudinally and longitudinally.

Among the findings: "One is left with a pattern of predominantly northeastern Scottish ancestry supplemented with Mediterranean elements and only minor contributions from adjacent northwestern European populations (England/Wales, Netherlands, Norway, Belgium, Denmark)."

In conclusion: "Although based on a limited sample, our results suggest that the Melungeons were not primarily drawn from ancestries in northwestern Europe, but rather represent an amalgam of Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, North African, Sub-Saharan African and Native American ethnicities. It is possible that some founders carried South Asian and/or Gypsy/Roma ancestry, as well."

Discussed also are some of the little-understood aspects of population structure convergence -- for instance, that of Finns and individuals of predominantly northwestern European ancestry admixed with Native American.

A big thank you to the participants in this groundbreaking study! 

When shopping on our site, or when calling us, remember you and your friends and family can obtain a 10% discount on any order just by mentioning the promo code dnaplus.