Suomi DNA-projekti / Finland DNA-projektet / Finland DNA Project

New Family Finder test created in spring 2010 has really found new DNA relatives, classified as less than fifth cousins to many members. The ancestors of those classified as less than fifth cousins are geographically from nabour areas. Because the haplogroups of direct father and mother lines differ, they do not for this reason appear on the match lists of the direct Y-DNA or mtDNA-tests.

If from male sample the Y-DNA 67 markers compare result and the highest level of  mtDNA, the Full Sequence has already been tested , the Family Finder test can really be recommended. That test takes 22 autosomal  cromosoms from mixed heritage into analysi and compares  500.000 items in short parts to other Family Finder tested persons.

Family Finder test can be done from samples given by males and females.

For new members who want to order DNA analysis the recommendation is:

For males sample givers:

Comprehensive Genome, it contains 67 markers of the direct father line, the Full Sequence of the direct mother line and the Family Finder the comparison of  22 autosomals towards other Family Finder tested persons.

If you want to leave away the autosomal analysis, the recommendation is Super DNA, because it contains the 67 markers from father line and 16569 mtDNA markers from mother line, necessary for finding the closest DNA relative.

If  the direct father line is wanted only, the recommendation is Y DNA 67 markers.

If the direct mother line only, the recommendation is Full Sequence. 

The female sample givers:

the recommendation is the Full Sequence of  the direct mother line + Family Finder.

If one of  them is wanted to leave away, the recommendation is  mtDNA Full Sequence.

Because it takes its time to get the test results ready, and the upgrade orders afterwards are somewhat more expensive, therefore the recommendations is to order at one time as complete test level as possible. Family Finder does not offer different test levels. Those who match will be set into the order of closeness. It is not the same in direct father and mother lines. If in the beginning lower test levels has been ordered, in most cased there will come high amount of those who match and upgrade order analysis  to the highest level is necessary in order to find the closest DNA relative in direct father and mother lines. 

Because of the high amount of open orders , only the results of direct father lines will come out of the lab rather quickly, the first results from the lab within two  three weeks. But in mother lines and Family Finder the you have to be patient and expect to meet delay. Anyway, all the orders will be delivered  after waiting time, although a strict quality control may lead to repeat rouds and cause delay.

L258,L287,L296,L300 can be ordered at 79 dollars by placing the tick only for L22 in Advanced Orders, SNP link. Note: If you order Deep I test, the price 79 dollars tells only if you are L22+ or L22- including other minuses or pluses according to the haplotree presented there.

8 new test results from Aug 30th seem to confirm that mutation combination of L22+, L258+,L287+ forms a wide-spread Finnish subhaplogroup in I1d. However still only one L22+,L258+,L287+,L297+ combination found. Another rarity: only one L22+,L258-,L300+ found, ancestor in Central Finland; however, presumably more cases of this type may be found outside Finland, because of L22+,L258- type is not common in Finland.

Until now (5th of June) only for those I1d haplos ,whose paternal ancestor is in Finland, has been found L258+ test result. As common feature for L258+ until now:

DYS 390=23,  DYS 413 a,b=21,24(or 24,24)

It is worth of testing L258 if you have 1-2 deviations from: DYS 390=23, DYS 439=10,DYS 511=9, DYS 413 a,b=21,24

L258+ test results have been received by kit-numbers:

Especially if your Y-DNA DYS values on the personal map page of www.fidna.info differ compared to those kit-numbers in locuses 439, 511 and 413 a,b , it would help very much, if you order L258 test at 29 dollars (+9,5 $).  The order path: Order tests & upgrades, Advanced Orders, SNP.

In Finland there has been found a special result: L22+, L258-, L300+

kit 164023

Look at new subhaplo definitions for all haplos:

http://ytree.ftdna.com/index.php?name=Draft&parent=root

Once a year, in October – November, there is a  meeting of a board of official nature to determine new subhaplogroups. Then L258 is expected to be a part of Deep I test. Whether also L287,L296,and L300 will create their own subhaplogroup may depend on how common they are.

An overview of where we are with Family Finder at the moment.

As of today, 81 project members have ordered the new Family Finder test since its initial beta launch in mid-February and of those, 31 have already received their results back. Beyond very close relationships (for instance, matches within one’s own immediate family, aunts, uncles and 1^st cousins), multiple project members are seeing close matches predicted to be in the 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th cousin range while some of us have many in the 5^th to distant cousin range. A few project members – including me – share at least one precise block of chromosome with more than one match and intriguingly, one person in the project entirely of Finnish ancestry shares a significant-sized block of chromosome with two matches whose known ancestry is entirely British Isles and Western European.

As for success stories, in the Finland DNA Project so far we have a total of 9 identified connections that have been confirmed by comparing family trees, with more in the process of being identified. I’ve written about my own success confirming matches for myself and my husband on Invisible Histories here and here; I should point out that an excellent and unexpected benefit of the research process seeking out the shared ancestor is that with each paper-trail confirmed match, I’ve been able to extend my tree and they theirs. Which in turn should help in finding commonality with other matches, particularly those of your matches who have less to work with.

Some essential recommendations:

• Upload a GEDCOM and/or enter all your ancestor surnames and locations in the User Preferences section of your FamilyTreeDNA account. I was surprised to discover recently that some people are only entering, for instance, five generations when they have family lines going much further back. Enter names and locations for everybody you have!
• Once your results are in, the first thing to do is go through the Chromosome Browser Tutorial and then use that tool to explore your own matches. Quite helpful is to identify whether you share a particular block of chromosome with more than one match because it can dramatically narrow the focus of your common ancestor search.
• As for the process of finding the common ancestor, if you do share a precise, long-ish chromosome block with multiple matches – in which case I would recommend contacting them as a group so you can all work together – contact one match at a time, obviously starting with the closest matches first; while some have found their respective common ancestor with a match right away, others can take considerably more time, potentially involving many email exchanges and much research until the ancestor is found. After that, the next matches I would recommend contacting are those you share the longest chromosomal blocks with (as opposed to those you share the largest amount of DNA with, although with some matches these go together).

For our upcoming Family Finder page at fidna.info I have been collecting notes and resources which I hope will be helpful in understanding this complex test and process. Project member Bo has sent me a chart I’ll be using to display number and level of Family Finder matches for each kit within the project until FamilyTreeDNA makes those results visible in the same way they currently do with Y-DNA and mtDNA. If anybody has suggestions for things they would like to see on our project’s Family Finder page, or questions about the test and/or your results please contact me directly:  fimtdna@gmail.com

Family Finder is now out of the beta phase and being offered to the general public. Current project members can order the test through the sidebar link on their FamilyTreeDNA account page; anyone who is interested in joining the project by ordering the test can do so here. Once the kit has been received and put into a testing batch at the lab, turnaround time is taking about six weeks. However, if FTDNA is experiencing a high volume of Family Finder orders it could take longer to receive your results.

On a side note, our Finland DNA Project facebook group is slowly but steadily growing. If you are on facebook and would like to meet and talk with others also interested in Finnish DNA, please join us!