mtDNA Discount

Post date: Aug 28, 2015 1:30:40 PM

For a limited time only, Family Tree DNA is offering a 20% discount on their mtDNA test. This test is usually $199, and is now available for only $159.20. This offer is valid through 31 August 2015.

For those of you who are not familiar with mtDNA or with how such a test can be useful for genealogical purposes: mtDNA = Mitochondrial DNA. The mitochondria is commonly referred to as the "powerhouse of the cell", but more importantly from a genealogical perspective, the mitochondria (along with its associated DNA) is only inherited from the mother. This is in contrast to Y-DNA, which is only inherited from the father. The mtDNA that you have is the same as the mtDNA that your mother has, and in turn, the same has her mother, her mother's mother, and so on, all the way up the maternal edge of your family tree.

An mtDNA test allows you to compare your mitochondrial DNA with that of other individuals who have taken this test. As with a Y-DNA test, this test can help you to verify your research, or to refute conclusions that you have made in your research. It can also be useful when looking for relatives from your maternal line. If you have a mtDNA match, that individual must be related to you through your maternal line, as well as through their maternal line.

If you believe that you have traced your lineage to a particular individual, but are having difficulty in proving your connection to that individual (perhaps the connection requires a slight leap, or is based only on a long-ago published "biographical" without any other supporting evidence, or on publicly posted family trees on the Internet), DNA testing can be extremely helpful in supporting or disproving a poorly supported link in your tree.

To do this, one must use a combination of reverse genealogy and DNA testing. Trace that distant ancestor's descendants (through a different line of descent than yours) to a living individual, and then have that living individual's DNA tested and compared to your own. The most useful DNA test for this purpose are either a Y-DNA or an mtDNA test, depending on which lines you are able to trace to a living descendant.

Contact Ancestors & Cousins today to get help from a seasoned professional. Ancestors & Cousins specializes in both reverse genealogy and genetic genealogy.