About Me, Genetically That Is...

[kybearfuzz]

Genealogy and genetics have always fascinated me. It probably started long before I even knew what genetics was really. Everyone always made comments about me and the twin whenever they were told we were twins. "Wow, they don't look anything alike," people would say. We were amazingly opposite in appearance back then, the twin being slim and having that blond (nearly white) hair and hazel eyes in contrast to my stocky build and dark hair and eyes. Yet, looking at other family members, I saw familiar pieces in them in each of us.

Considering that it is supposed to be a dominant genetic trait, the dark hair and eyes appear in very few of us. In the 21 kids in my generation, only three of us do not have blue eyes -- my sis, the twin, and me -- and only I have those nearly black eyes where the pupils are hard to see without a light. I could play a Star Trek Betazoid without the need for colored contact lenses (geek reference).

One of the big mysteries in my family was where this dark hair and eyes came from. There is a "vein" of people in the family who have these characteristics -- my great-grandmother, my grandfather (her son), my mom (his daughter) and me and my sister. Doing the family tree provided no clues as the documentation wasn't the best and my family has been here for 170+ years (in the same county no less). We long suspected that we had some Native American ancestry. There was also the possibility of some Portuguese descent that is relatively common in Eastern Kentucky, or African genes that could have been undocumented.

A couple of years ago, guinnesscub posted his results from his "23andMe" DNA test that provided some info about his genetic diversity, where genetically his ancestors hailed from based on his DNA. I thought that was pretty cool and wanted to do it for some time. The FDA cracked down on 23andMe because of some disease diagnostic stuff in their data, so they aren't doing the test right now until it gets cleared up.

So around Christmas time, I bought the AncestryDNA kit online and sent it off for testing. Well, the results are in:



The results are only estimates, but they provide some clues to things and offer up a few surprises that go against what I had anticipated. The largest percentage is Western Europe which is primarily the areas of France, Germany, The Netherlands, Switzerland, etc., but may also include England and Denmark. We don't have a lot of family names that reflect these areas, but maiden names are hard to find. Great Britain includes England, Wales and Scotland, which were no surprises as I knew of several ancestors from those areas, but the percentage was a bit lower than I expected. Ireland was not a surprise either, but the lower percentage was, as I'd always guessed we had a lot more Irish ancestry.

The "trace region" data is curious to me, especially the "Iberian peninsula" data, which includes Portugal and Spain. This may actually support that the dark hair and eyes could be from ancestry of this region, which also is thought to be the reason for the "Black Irish" phenotype in Ireland.

One of the biggest surprises was that I had no Native American or African DNA. Having Native American ancestry was always a family rumor, but it seems it was just a rumor now.

I'm glad I did this because it was fun and informative. However, I admit I am curious now what the 23andme data set would have said about me for comparison.

Comments

[mississippicub.livejournal.com]

That's pretty cool!

I hated to hear the feds shut down the 23andme test. I am a big genealogy person myself. I have traced our family back to the 1700s, but is as far as I can go since the British destroyed a lot of Irish records.

[kybearfuzz.livejournal.com]

I checked the 23andme website and it looks like the genealogy test is still available. It states:

"23and me provides ancestry-related genetic reports and raw genetic data. At this time we do not offer health-related genetic reports."

The company received an FDA "Warning Letter" which basically outlines that the test was a medical device by law, because the health-related report portion of the DNA analysis was essentially a diagnostic test for genetic dispositions for certain diseases.

If the test only provides the genealogical aspects, it wouldn't be considered a diagnostic test for medical purposes. It appears that the firm is going through the clearance process, so the medical data portion might be available in the future.

[changeling72.livejournal.com]

That sounds fascinating. I know I have French and Irish blood in me. Mostly English, though.

[kybearfuzz.livejournal.com]

It's a fun test, if not a bit quirky. :)

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

It is interesting. Blues are a recessive gene, are they not? Both of my nephews have married women with green or hazel eyes, so I suspect the next generation of my family will be significantly different. My niece's finance is Chinese, so that will be a big change, too. But, for now, siblings and their children are blue eyed and blonde, except my niece Caitlin who has green eyes.

[kybearfuzz.livejournal.com]

Genetics can be VERY interesting.

Brown eyes are the dominant trait, blue eyes are the recessive. It is funny that in my family so few of us have actually have brown eyes. My siblings and I have brown eyes, but we also have a blue-eyed recessive gene, as our dad had blue eyes. My sister married a brown-eyed guy who also has a blue-eye recessive gene (as his mom has blue eyes).

Their son has brown-eyes and he may be the first person in the known family to have no blue-eye recessive genes. We won't know until he has kids and we see what color eyes they have.

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

We used to tease my cousin Michelle when we were really young (I haven't seen here since I was 12), that her mom (my Aunt Janet) had had an affair with the milkman. She had brown eyes and there wasn't anyone in our family with brown eyes for generations. We all had the same shade of blue grey, as did her mom and dad and all grandparents. Looking back, I guess we were kind of cruel.

[sunbeam-bears.livejournal.com]

I found my birthparents. My sister and I both have blue eyes, and light brown hair. On both my maternal, and paternal sides, everyone, and I mean all of them have blue eyes. Not a gray, green or brown on any of them, for generations. Perhaps we are related to the Nordic Aliens species.

[kybearfuzz.livejournal.com]

LOL... I do wonder if people with blue eyes aren't attracted to people who have blue eyes. :)

[spatts5.livejournal.com]

Now you have me curious to do the DNA as well. My niece's two children both have red hair and I don't know of anyone in my family with red hair (if I remember correctly, that's a recessive gene). How long did the results take?

[kybearfuzz.livejournal.com]

I sent mine off in early January, so it takes roughly 4-6 weeks from the time they receive the finished kit.

[mort-83.livejournal.com]

My cousin did the 23andMe thing. I'm still thinking of the National Geographic one.

Betazoid. LOL