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Is it possible to be in 2 different Y DNA Haplogroups?

Discussion in 'DNA Questions and Answers' started by Derek Baker, Jul 19, 2023.

  1. Derek Baker

    Derek Baker LostCousins Star

    I have done Y DNA tests with:
    Living DNA - Y DNA is Haplogroup R-P312 Sub Clade R-CTS4065.
    Family Tree DNA - Y DNA Haplogroup is R-M269.
    Is this possible or has something gone wrong?
    Yours
    Confused.
     
  2. PeterM

    PeterM LostCousins Member

    R-P312 is, I think, a sub group of R-M269. So it isn't a different group.
     
  3. Derek Baker

    Derek Baker LostCousins Star

    Hi Peter M,
    Thanks for your reply.
    They are both sub groups of R1b.
    I have found migration maps for both groups here: https://indo-european.eu/y-dna-and-mtdna-maps/haplogroup-r1b-m269/
    Both R1b-P312 and R1b-M269 are shown as two distinct haplogroups. The migration maps for both are similar but so are a lot of others.
    It suggests that P312 may be a subclade of M269 but this is not clear.
    Could this be down to differences in the analysis methodology of the two labs?
     
  4. PeterM

    PeterM LostCousins Member

    Yes. It is different analysis. You will probably find that 23&me is different again.
     
  5. Derek Baker

    Derek Baker LostCousins Star

    Thanks.
    So it is not an exact science!
     
  6. Stuart

    Stuart LostCousins Member

    Here's a page that attempts to explain this. I can't vouch for it - and I'm not an expert anyway. What I take from it is that only FamilyTreeDNA's big-Y test can claim to identify your haplogroup in full (or pretty close, at least). Any test on a smaller set of markers gets an incomplete identification, and they then guess the full haplogroup label. And guesses - or estimates, to be more polite - can be different.
     
  7. Derek Baker

    Derek Baker LostCousins Star

    Thanks, I have just joined the Family Tree Facebook Big Y group.
    So will seek an explanation there and will post the reply here for all to understand.
     
  8. Tim Powys-Lybbe

    Tim Powys-Lybbe New Member

    Thanks for giving us that magnificent analysis of haplogroups.
    In it I found this remark: "Neither MyHeritage nor Ancestry provide Y or mitochondrial haplogroups."

    This is a concern. Naming no names, we are being told on the one hand that we must use Ancestry, particularly as they have so many test results. And on the other hand we are told that Ancestry do not do Y or mitochrondrial hapslogroups.

    So what are Ancestry good for? Never having used them, I can say confidently that they are good for closely related family members, perhaps up to third or fourth cousins. Ancestry's methods mean that they cannot provide information about distant relatives at all.

    What FamilyTreeDNA is good for is long distant relationships. I have found through FTDNA's Big-Y test that a half seventh cousin and I have identical Y-DNA. So we are descended from a common ancestor, who we always knew and who was born in 1749. This means that all other true male-line descendants of this common ancestor with have the same Y-DNA. So we have found an eighth cousin to try this out and his sample went into testing a few days ago. If his Y-DNA is not the same, then one of his more recent male ancestors was not the man we think he was, but this is to be expected sometimes.

    My understanding is that Ancestry cannot begin to provide information of this quality about long distant male (and female through mitochondrial testing) ancestry. Can this be added to the encouragement to buy into Anstry's limited DNA testing?
     
  9. peter

    peter Administrator Staff Member

    Since you haven't taken the Ancestry test you're surely not in a very good position to judge the relative advantages of their test. By contrast I have taken all of the available tests with all of the major providers. I also manage or collaborate on Y-DNA for a handful of cousins (3 different lines), and autosomal tests for numerous cousins.

    Y-DNA tests are understandably very popular with those whose main interest is in their direct paternal line, but their potential is limited by several factors, including:
    • the relatively low number of people who have tested
    • the fact that matches can only be made between cousins who share the same direct paternal ancestor
    • the difficulty of identifying how far back the common ancestor is
    I tested my Y-DNA with FTDNA in 2012 and after more than a decade have a total of 7 matches (4 at Y-111 and an additional 3 at Y-37). None of those matches have helped me with my research, but I live in hope.

    I do write about Y-DNA tests in my newsletter from time to time, but they should not be seen as an alternative to the Ancestry test, which is infinitely preferable for those of us who have 'brick walls' in the last 300 years.
     
  10. peter

    peter Administrator Staff Member

    I have matches at Ancestry with two 8th cousins in the US which have enabled me to confirm one of my lines back to the late 1600s. This is exceptional, but not totally unexpected given how many 8th cousins we all have.
     

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