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Your maternal ancestry can be followed back using a special type of DNA called mitochondrial DNA. We call it mtDNA for short.
 Mitochondria are found within each of our cells. Their main job is to produce energy so that when we run up a flight of stairs, just enough energy is produced for our cells.
However, it's the way that the mitochondria and, more importantly, the mtDNA inside is passed on to the next generation that is of most interest to genealogists and people looking into their past.
In one quick sentence, females pass mtDNA onto their offspring.
 Therefore, everyone will have received mtDNA from their mother and in turn, those mothers received their mtDNA copies from their mothers too. In this way, the path of the mtDNA has travelled down the generations through the direct maternal line.
Every one of us is sitting on a branch of the mtDNA Tree. This tree has it's roots in East Africa about 170,000 years ago. Small differences along the DNA appear which if it is seen in one person and not another, forms a branch.
Every few thousand years
a new branch will appear to form the tree that we now see.
As people travelled around the globe, they took these branches (haplogroups) with them, developed new ones and we now see different haplogroups in different parts of the world.
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click on the above image for a print-quality PDF version
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By testing your mtDNA at three different regions (HVR1, HVR2 and HVR3) we can deduce your mtDNA haplogroup.
mtDNA haplogroups are generally much more widespread than their counterpart of the Y-chromosome (paternally related) possibly due to the fact that women, in most cultures, are more mobile than men. This is down to a tradition of a new bride going to live with the husbands' family, although there are other explanations. The main exception to this is when another continent or island is invaded and/or settled, where males and their Y-chromosomes tend to populate the new region.
Each report is contributed to by PhD research scientists working in that particular area so you get up-to-date information. For a sample mtDNA Report (for which we have the majority of haplogroups covered) click here
Order the test for just $219
The mtDNA tests are blinkered in that they only look at one single genetic line, whereas we are of course a genetic mixture of many of our ancestors. But it's an interesting part of us traceable for many thousands of years!
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Notes |
i) |
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The bases (letters on your DNA) we sequence are as follows: |
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16,001 to 16,568 which covers HVRI (16,024 to 16365),
1 to 400 which covers HVRII (73 to 340) and also
401 to 576 which covers HVRIII (438-576) |
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ii) |
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The best use of the test really is as an anthropological test, although |
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it will add to a theory that two people are related through the direct maternal line. You will match the same results as other people who won't be related to you although because we test for three HVR regions, the discriminatory power is increased. It's never 100% positive, but will provide supporting evidence to a theory. |
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North American office: P.O. Box 1028, Richmond, TX 77406-1028 USA tel/fax: Toll free 866-7-DNA-DNA |
European office: 40 Preston Road, Weymouth, Dorset,
DT3 6PZ, UK tel:+44 (0) 1305 834936 fax:+44 (0)
1305 835925 |
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