Hi,
Testing Companies are different from each other. I know that is a stupid statement, but
let me explain, each company tests common YSTR markers and then thier own STR markers.
THey discover new markers with different primers. They keep how to find the markers
private so that if you want that set of markers you must test with their company. This is
the way they get back the cost of their research..
To use a test's results you must be able to compare your results with other
company's test results. It is much easier if everyone tested with the same company but
we don't. We choose the company for whatever reason...
The cost of testing is high enough that a person should look into the company. Are there
complaints about the company, what is their service level?
I have my preference but as a project admin not a company admin.... I use the results from
any company and use a graft to show how the results compare with each other. (All online)
I use codes to protect the person who took the test.
I think going to the archives of the genealogy-dna mailing list at
rootsweb.com and
reading pros and cons about the differnt companies is very important, actually a must.
Now yes you can test free at Sorenson's. I say everyone should test there. (Even with
testing at other companies as they are a scientific company doing population genetics.)
Women test their mt-dna not their X sex chromosome. (You really need to read my website to
understand what mtdna is...) Men can test for their Y-sex chromosome and their
mother's mtdna, which they share with thier sisters.
Men's Y results are just that the result of a particular place on the dna string being
tested. You are given the marker number and the result answer, you take that and compare
it to the other man's.
MT-dna is different, mtdna (Need to read) is circular, think of it like a clock... it is
broken into regions., for testing... there are more places tested then the men's dna
string, so instead of the marker and results being given you, you get the difference your
results were from the modle. The of results of the modle has become the standard, it is
called the Cambridge Reference Sequence, or CRS. Everyone else’s MTDNA is compared
against theirs, and the differences (mutations) duly noted. The sections are refered to
as HVR 1. HVR 2, some have HVR 3, these are between 11:59 - 12:05 on a clock , the rest is
a coding region... read about it...
anyway, if you decide to test go read about the different companies....Don't spend
that kind of money without knowing what your getting. And if you want my personal opinion
ask me off list..
Nelda