What is DNA testing?
DNA testing, and the associated field of genetic genealogy, is one of the most exciting and fastest growing areas of genealogy. Using DNA testing and genetic genealogy, we are often able to break through persistent brick walls that have stood for years or even decades. In particular, DNA testing can help with finding the families of adoptees and other circumstances where the parents are not known.
How does it work?
There are three different types of DNA testing – Y-DNA, mtDNA and autosomal DNA. Your Y-DNA is the DNA you inherit from your father, passed down on the Y-chromosome. This can be useful for exploring your direct paternal line, so long as you have a Y-chromosome to test. mtDNA, or mitochondrial DNA, is passed down from mother to child, so can be used to trace your direct maternal line. Finally autosomal DNA is inherited from each parent in roughly equal mixes, so can be used to trace your genetic ancestry along both sides to a depth of around six generations.
How can we help?
If you’re interested in taking a DNA test, for whatever reason, we can help advise which the best test is for you, and organise the test so you don’t have to. If you’ve already taken a DNA test, and would like to delve further into the results, we can show you how to make the most of your DNA, and where to go next with interpreting what your results are telling you. Finally, if you have questions you want your DNA to answer, we can help you answer them, searching through the results to find the vital information and hopefully breaking down those brick walls.
If you’re interested in DNA testing, how it can help you and how we can help you with it, don’t delay: contact us today for a no-obligation quote.