How did we get here - tracing genes

The Genographic Project Public Participation
Mitochondrial DNA Database

The Genographic Project with the support of The National Geographic society is trying to map human migrations. For about $100 they will send you a kit to collect two samples of inner cheek cells which they will use to see where you fit in the pattern. For men they sequence part of the Y chromosome and for women the mitochondria. Samples from people all over the world allow them to map human migrations in the last 100,000 years. I have had both my Y chromosome and mitochondria done. The Y chromosome shows your paternal pattern and the mitochondria your maternal pattern. Their site explains why these two portions of the human genome are used. As women don’t have a Y chromosome they can only trace their maternal history. My Y pattern or haplogroup is most commonly found in India except for a few of us whose ancestors migrated to Europe thousands of years ago. My mitochondrial haplogroup is H which is most common in Europe and is one of the newest haplogroups to evolve as shown by the chart.

Sign up at https://www3.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/ and learn your history.

I have used their service to post my Y haplotype on the web and a number of people with my last name who have had their Y chromosome done have contacted me. The system works.

The chart is from a recent paper on the current status of the project that can be accessed from the web page listed above.