Most Recent Ancestor

[Ian B]

According to GeneBase I carry yDNA D(M174), which is almost completely Japanese. I'm a blue eyed, fair skinned, Caucasoid. My closest match, according to GeneBase is a Japanese man who carries yDNA R1a, and we shared a common ancestor, at the most, 150generations ago (500 years ago, is that correct?). How can I have yDNA D having regard to my physical characteristics, and an a match who shares a different yDNA Hpg?

[ilmari]

I've never heard anything but complaints about GeneBase. Perhaps you can Google search for other opinions.

[AJL]

It's only $39 to test 12 STRs at Family Tree DNA. I'd suggest starting with that and joining the relevant haplogroup project. If your results are ambiguous you qualify for free basic haplogroup testing.

My guess is that the Japanese man is actually D, and you are actually R1a1a1, and you are not recently related. You might want to check Ysearch for your surname, and see if anyone in R1a1a1 with your surname has tested. It is also not impossible you have a very remote Y-line Asian ancestor.

[Jean M]

I had suggested (elsewhere) that the D could have been assimilated in Asia by East Iranian speakers and later transported west with them along the steppe, up the Danube and into the Hallstatt Culture. The latter adopted iron-working and wagon burials from the Cimmerians.

However it would be just as well to be certain that the haplogroup really is D.

[Jean M]

It's only $39 to test 12 STRs at Family Tree DNA.

Yes but it is only $99 plus shipping to test a whole lot more with 23andMe. Y-DNA, mtDNA, and approximately one million variants from the total genome. They provide online comparisons of your genome with population samples from across the world. You should not need to test again when new SNPs are discovered on the Y-Chromosome.

I understand that a rival company, Lumigenix, started up in Australia in 2011, but their website is a blank at the moment. There was a Review of the Lumigenix “Comprehensive” personal genome service by Genomes Unzipped last year.

[AJL]

Yes but it is only $99 plus shipping to test a whole lot more with 23andMe. Y-DNA, mtDNA, and approximately one million variants from the total genome.

Coverage of the Y at 23andme is extremely weak—no STRs and missing basic SNPs—and shipping costs are a fair bit to Oz for 23andme ($75 USD) as compared to FTDNA (about $5-10 USD).

It really depends whether Ian's interests are primarily the Y, or are more catholic. At the moment the ideal, in terms of both coverage and cost, is probably to test at 23andme, export the raw data to upload to Family Finder for $89, then order perhaps 37 ySTRs when they are on sale, and à la carte SNPs if necessary.

[Ian B]

Thanks everyone, I'm still waiting on results from FTDNA, but I thought that I'd pose the question anyway. GeneBase have the habit of "predicting" Hpg in their results and that seems questionable to me given the rapid progress in DNA testing worldwide. As a "newbie" I'm having trouble using certain software because GeneBase results format is not compatible.

[Ian B]

@AJL. "Ysearch for your surname"
Thanks, as I've explained elsewhere I have no idea at all of my paternity, so that won't work.

"It is also not impossible you have a very remote Y-line Asian ancestor."
Yes, Jean has explained this to me, and while I'm still waiting for FTDNA results I was curious how the difference in DNA occurred.

[Ian B]

@Jean:

My FTDNA 37 marker results are in and it seems that I carry D2a1b (or D-M125).

FTDNA gives the country of origin as Japan.