yDNA SNP testing is an important but sometimes overlooked step-child of surname study DNA work. Haplotypes defined by STR testing results are used to predict a Haplogroup. But it is the SNP values that determine the Haplogroup. As SNP values are more stable, these need to be tested to verify that any STR match really exists. This page is to highlight that there are hidden gems of SNP testing that help you take that extra step.
If yDNA testing is done on FamilyTreeDNA, then the results of the yDNA SNP test are available there for others in your STR match list to see. Otherwise, the NGG yDNA SNP test results can be transferred in also.
Ends up though all microarray tests report SNPs on all the DNA in the human cell. Including yDNA. Only FTDNA strips out all yDNA and mtDNA results from their test before providing the RAW File Format result. For other testing companies, one can use the results to help guide which yDNA SNP tests to order at FamilyTreeDNA. From our Genetic Genealogy Testing Comparison chart, you can see that the common microarray tests also include yDNA SNPs to a limited extent. So you have to extract those yDNA test results from the RAW data format file and analyze them to determine what SNPs have been tested and what your values are. Those results can often help determine a deeper SNP Pack to order.
See our write-up for the B10 family branch at Measuring this Haplogroup with various test services that shows the various detail levels provided down the phylogenetic tree by various test methods. This is simply an example. The depth and relative comparison between testing sources will vary with different haplogroups.
The tool to use today is Hunter Provyn's CladeFinder available at ySeq. Historically, we used the tool at Morley Surname Project Y DNA Extractor for a way to interpret the yDNA SNPs from Ancestry, 23andMe and even NGG. But Morley's tool has not been updated since 2014 and reports to an old ISOGG reference tree. Hunter's is based on the latest yFull tree.
If yDNA testing is done on FamilyTreeDNA, then the results of the yDNA SNP test are available there for others in your STR match list to see. Otherwise, the NGG yDNA SNP test results can be transferred in also.
Ends up though all microarray tests report SNPs on all the DNA in the human cell. Including yDNA. Only FTDNA strips out all yDNA and mtDNA results from their test before providing the RAW File Format result. For other testing companies, one can use the results to help guide which yDNA SNP tests to order at FamilyTreeDNA. From our Genetic Genealogy Testing Comparison chart, you can see that the common microarray tests also include yDNA SNPs to a limited extent. So you have to extract those yDNA test results from the RAW data format file and analyze them to determine what SNPs have been tested and what your values are. Those results can often help determine a deeper SNP Pack to order.
See our write-up for the B10 family branch at Measuring this Haplogroup with various test services that shows the various detail levels provided down the phylogenetic tree by various test methods. This is simply an example. The depth and relative comparison between testing sources will vary with different haplogroups.
The tool to use today is Hunter Provyn's CladeFinder available at ySeq. Historically, we used the tool at Morley Surname Project Y DNA Extractor for a way to interpret the yDNA SNPs from Ancestry, 23andMe and even NGG. But Morley's tool has not been updated since 2014 and reports to an old ISOGG reference tree. Hunter's is based on the latest yFull tree.