DNA Test Comparison: DNA Tribes, DNA Heritage & GeneTree
93What does the test involve?
No needles, no blood. You're given a swab which you use to wipe the inside of your cheek vigorously. You then send the swab to their labs for analysis.
Members of my family and I have tried the genetic ancestry tests from all 3 companies below. Here's what I have to share on each. Depending on how much you're willing to spend and what questions you want answered, each could work for you:
- DNA Heritage - Their Y-SNP is only $129 and tells you the exact haplogroup (or specific ancestral group) of your patrilineal heritage (i.e. your father's father's father's father's....), along with an extremely detailed "history" of your haplogroup. Best for "ancestry geeks" and those looking for the most detail.
- DNA Tribes - This $200 kit gives you scores of likelihood of your ancestral group origins (the top 20 closest matches), but if your ethnic group is not in the database, you could get bizarre results.
- GeneTree - Their $240 test tells you simply the percentage (through your matrilineal side, or mother's mother's mother's....etc.) you are each of: African, Asian, Native American and European. So you'll get results saying, for instance, you're 57% European, 11% African, and 32% Asian.
DNA Heritage - Haplogroups
DNA Heritage offers the Y-SNP test (only for males, since it tests the Y chromosome, which is passed from father to son) and a matrilineal test that tests the X chromosome you received from your mother.
In both cases, the result they'll give you is your genetic haplogroup, which is basically your branch in the human evolutionary tree.
Example: R1a1 - predominant haplogroup in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, from Poland (56%) to Tajikistan (64%).
My father used DNA Heritage's test to confirm that he is of the general ethnic stock - European - he thought he was (in contrast to DNA Tribe's result - see below!). However, this particular haplogroup predominates in Ireland and Iberia, which suggests my great-umpteenth-grandfather was a Paleolithic hunter foraging for food somewhere in Galicia.
If you plan to take your ancestry hobby to the most precise possible, a haplogroup test (maybe on both your father's and mother's side) would help round out the picture for you.
Costs: Their Y-SNP (paternal; Y-chromosome) test costs $129, and their mtDNA (maternal; mitochondrial DNA) test costs $219.
Turnaround: However, it did take a full 3 months for my father to get his results, due to a supposed backlog at their labs. They normally promise 3 1/2 weeks.
DNA Tribes - Your top 20 closest ethnic group matches
DNA Tribes approaches the results differently, instead looking at your genetic makeup and seeing which specific ethnic group that they've gathered DNA results for provides the closest match for you.
Example:
1. Japanese
2. Korean
3. Northeast China
4. China (Beijing)
etc.
This can give you, sometimes, very specific results. Friends of my parents, a Jewish couple, had this test done, and the results said the husband was Sephardic and that the wife was Ashkenazi (specific geographic Jewish subgroups).
The problem that can arise, which did occur in my father's case, is one of not having a match in their database. My father's ethnic group is traditionally very isolated, so the top 20 results were absolutely not even close to what he expected. DNA Tribes said that because my father's ethnic group is not in their database yet, the top 20 matches are fairly poor. He can pay another $25 to update his results once exact or closer matches show up in their database.
Costs: Their test costs $200.
Turnaround: They claim 2-3 weeks, and 3 weeks is what we observed.
GeneTree - Percentages of 4 broad racial groups
GeneTree offers a far simpler analysis ("Ancestry by DNA") using your mother's DNA. It just gives you your percentages of African, Asian, European and Native American blood.
Example:
73% African
17% Native American
10% European
My partner used this test which confirmed, more or less, what he knew about his mother's ethnic background.
There have been news stories of high school students using GeneTree (and similar companies') results to prove their have Native American (American Indian) blood, for scholarships.
There has also been something called "American Indian Princess Syndrome" among white women who find out they have no Native American blood on it, and call up GeneTree angrily demanding an explanation. (Apparently the Native American part is common family folklore, grounded in wishful thinking more than anything else, for many people).
Costs: The AncestrybyDNA test costs $240.
Turnaround: It took a while to get the results back in - about 2 months.
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Comments
Hi Livelonger, your posts always have good and complete information for anyone interested in the subject. I enjoy reading them because I can learn new things, even if the post isn't about something I'm interested in at that time. I've always been more interested in where I'm going than where I came from. Congratulations on your 100th.
Congrats Livelonger for the 100th blog, 100s more soon. Nice hub, with this DNA test it will be good to know the backgrounds.
Congratulations on your 100th hub. A very good informative hub. Thanks cgull8m.
Wow this is so cool, I have to look into this!
Wonderful information that you have chosen to share! Have you heard anything about a New Zealand tribe whose DNA is different enough from all other tribes so as to not be directly related to humans - their DNA is 2% or more different? A National Geographic global DNA tracking project put forth this information in mid-2005 and I can no longer find it anywhere. Perhaps it weas an error, since the research is continually updated.
I love this hub. I have always wanted to do such a thing but thought that the prices were too expensive. I think they have gone down now a bit because they used to be $200+. There was talk in my father's side of the family that we had Cherokee Indian and this would be the perfect way to prove such a thing. I would like to know.
Very interesting, Patty - I had not heard of the NZ tribe. I had heard that the Basque people are unrelated to all other peoples.
Maricarbo - they still run around $200, except for that Y-SNP from DNA Heritage, and that would only tell you if your father's father's father's father's...etc was American Indian. If the American Indian blood was from a female ancestor on your father's side, it wouldn't register it.
looks like this testing could provide clues to this genetic characteristic: nordic caucasian blond-blue-eyed babyhood-toddler epicanthal fold (over inner eye, with oriental appearance) that later goes away, appparently as the nose bridge developed more. Ethnic background somewhere (Tatars or Attila, whoever went to north Europe, and mixing with Viking types moving south, southeast and southwest?) or just random?
WOW! Excellent review. :-)
Livelonger - thanks for the information about the Basque. I will read more about them as well. Thanks for the Hub.
Thank you for your precious information. I'll be better informed about DNA & all the outcomes that gene could beget. Of course, tests're always useful to detect as soon as possible every genetic disorder & hereditary sickness easing diagnosis & treatment in time providing they are reliable & cheap. Getting better informed ab out genes means better knowledge about everyone's gene tree for our sake first
great info. i have been looking at the nat geo project. anyone have any info on this service? obviously i am looking for the best deal for my dollar.
they offer: Advanced Combo Package (Y-DNA 44 Marker + mtDNA HVR1 Test), $318.00 USHigh resolution test for tracing your own ancestry on your paternal and maternal lines
and mention providing haplogroup.
thanks in advance for any info.
No, I haven't heard about the National Geographic test. My guess is that they have partnered with one of the other laboratories that I've profiled above.
https://www3.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/pa
Yes, it looks like they offer a basic test that is $100 for either your male lineage or female lineage.
I wonder why no one has mentioned the largest data base to compare the DNA test result: www.familytreeDNA.com
I appreciate its pricing and deepness of the test results available. Only the name is misleading, because the surname projects should not any more be the main advertised issue. The geographical projects and haplogroup projects are far more important for the huge amount of tested persons.
Wanted to be emailed info on how I can have DNA testing? riettalea@hotmail.com
I had my DNA tested through the National Geo. Genome project several years ago. ..For the first year or two thereafter, I could not find any information regarding the so-called "out of sequence" sub groups. They were meaningless numbers to me. Finally details began to appear online. For your information, if you do have a DNA test and want more info...go to Wikipedia with your Haplogroup, then gradually seek out each sub group. They are building up an incredible data base of new information all the time...
Now, back to my DNA...I have blue eyes and blonde hair. To our recollection all family members came from France, Germany, and Hungary. However, my DNA test said somethngs quite different. It indicates I have mostly Basque (French) North India (Tibet-Nepal-Kashmir) and Japanese. Japanese! Yikes. I wonder where my family ancestors were fooling around!! The results have been a total shock to all of us. We never had a clue that this would be our true ancestry.
The tests have been fascinating. I highly recommend them for no other reason than the joy of knowing the unexpected.
Sue
Sue,
Those results are so interesting that I would almost be willing to invest in a second test (from a different lab) just to check the interpretations of the results, if it were me. Of course, I don't know what kind of test this was. I assume, as you're female, that this is a mitochondrial test and you did not submit any Y data from a brother, father, etc. So this is only your mother's line, if that is the case, and therefore only half your picture.
A male can have a test that is Y-DNA (male line), or X (maternal), or even both because the male carries both the X and Y chromosome.
I have had my son's Y tested but would love to go deeper to see if there is Native American blood there as his dad has said many times. I am a bit confused as to which company was good for that. WouldDNA Tribes or Gen Tree? I used Family Tree DNA for the Y testing. I have not as of yet done the MtDNA.
hi i took the paterty test with my father.the results where negative as i was told, but i do not believe the result because he have refuse to send me a copy.can someone please advice me on what i can do next. mengalleebenezer@yahoo.com
If I am not sure who my dad is, Can I just have done a Y-SNP test to verify my father's background? Thank you
Y-SNP does not determine paternity. It will just tell you what the ethnic origins of your patrilineal line are (i.e. your father's father's father's father's father's....father). It won't tell you anything about your father's mother, for instance.
This is the thing, my mom doesn't want to get in touch with them in order to get a DNA test, but one of them is south american and the other one is from the middle east if I get the Y-SNP done would I'll be able to know which of them (Hispanic, Middle EAstern) has more heritage relation to my genes?????
I understand. Maybe the Y-SNP would tell you something, but I'd imagine it won't be conclusive, least of all because it only gives you a glimpse into one ancestor. Also, remember that Hispanics who trace their ancestry to Spain might have considerable Middle Eastern blood, since the Moors conquered Spain and left their mark on the gene pool.
I understand, is there any other test that you might recommend without their DNA sample? I just want to know where I come from (father side), but I really don't want to get in touch with them, if there is anything I can do on my own in order to resolve all my dudes. Thank you.
Sure. I think you can try any of the Y-SNP tests (the ones listed above, or others). Don't take the Mitochondrial DNA test - that determines your maternal line. The Y-SNP test will at least tell you where your father's paternal line comes from, and will give you some insight into your background (I assume your mother can fill in some answers with your maternal line).
Thank's a lot, I will do that.
what exactly R1b3 means?
Thank you for a very informative hub about DNA/genetics/tribes. I wonder how many folks have a record of their lineage in a family tree somewhere and how far back they can trace their lineage?
I am a bit confused, I was contacted in thought that our native american background needs to be established for educational fund purposes. I was told that my grandmother (Fathers mother)was over half native american. I am confused at which company would provide adequate information as far as DNA. Any guidance of which company or which test to do?
I had recently been told that you could do these types of tests and become very interested. My father passed away 4 years ago and I have always had my questions about if I am at all Native American. I just graduated college so Im not looking for money, I just want to find out if it is true or not and like this post says- for most people its just wishful thinking. Which one of these tests would be the best to find this out specifically from my fathers side?
- Gene Tree
- DNA Heritage
- DNA Tribes
- Haplogroup - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
General discussion plus links to learn about each subclade.
jimmythejock says:
2 years ago
Very interesting reading Livelonger, you got me wondering about my DNA now lol although my parents always said I wasn't born I was invented.....jimmy
P.S 80) CONGRATULATIONS ON THE BIG 100TH HUB, WELL DONE