Introducing the Ancestry.com DNA UPGRADE feature


Some of you probably debated between a Y-Chromosome 33 or 46 Paternal Lineage Test.  Or maybe you’re still debating?  Good news - anytime after you’ve taken the Y33 test with Ancestry.com DNA, you can now upgrade to the Y46 for just $70; and all online.  See what results you get with the Y33 then come back later to refine those results.  You don’t even need to swab your cheek again.

A Y33 test looks at unique values on your DNA at 33 locations.  You get 33 points of comparison when you compare your results to someone else’s Ancestry.com DNA results. 

A Y46 test looks at an additional 13 markers.  Its added insight is particularly valuable when evaluating matches for a refined view in determining the most recent common ancestor.  In other words, the additional markers refine the predicted time period in which two individuals are related and can also eliminate unrelated matches.

If you are…

  • trying to confirm or refute suspected family members
  • looking for very specific matches
  • searching for sub-branches in your family lines

the Y46 is the way to go.

upgrade

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August 4th, 2009
23 Responses
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Reader Comments

Comment Number:
1
Written by:
Mike
Posted on:
August 4, 2009 at 4:04 pm

While this is good news for those considering making the move, I have a tangential question related to the paternal DNA matching results:

My list of potential cousins has remained stagnant at the same list of individuals since I have taken the test in March. The number of potential matches remains at 250, and the individuals in the list don’t change.

To me that means one of two things:
A) There aren’t many people taking advantage of DNA tests due to the economic crisis.
B) The matching system is bugged, or capped at 250 individuals.

Could someone shed a bit more light on this phenomenon, have others experienced something similar?

Thanks!

Comment Number:
2
Written by:
Barbara Bennett
Posted on:
August 4, 2009 at 7:18 pm

I am stuck on this page and can’t get back to the search page.

Can you ‘unfix’ it so we can have better search results?

Comment Number:
3
Written by:
Jesse Taylor
Posted on:
August 4, 2009 at 7:34 pm

Will this DNA test assist an adoptee who is looking for clues as to their ancestry or do you have to specifically request comparisons?

Comment Number:
4
Written by:
Wendy Jessen, Ancestry.com
Posted on:
August 5, 2009 at 11:05 am

Barbara, Your comment has been passed onto the Search team for further investigation. You may be contacted for futher information.

Thank you for taking time to visit the Ancestry.com DNA BLOG.

Comment Number:
5
Written by:
Wendy Jessen, Ancestry.com
Posted on:
August 5, 2009 at 2:01 pm

Jesse, Our Y chromosome tests reveal your unique haplotype, sometime referred to as a DNA signature. This signature is what is used to compare against others who have been DNA tested. If the comparison indicates that the two individuals share enough common markers, this means that you share a common paternal ancestor with the other individual in a genealogically reasonable time frame (last few hundred years). Collaborating, further family history research and potentially additional DNA tests help you to decipher whom that ancestor may be. This process assists those who know who their biological parents are, but is also the same process that an adoptee would follow.

We also provide insight into your ancient ancestral grouping. This is a neat bit of information about your ancient ancestry (thousands of years ago) showing the migration paths and description of the group. Please note that the haplogroup information is about your paternal ancestors who lived thousands of years ago.

Comment Number:
6
Written by:
Wendy Jessen, Ancestry.com
Posted on:
August 5, 2009 at 2:12 pm

Mike, We do cap our list of potential matches at 250. The most significant match possibilities will be listed at the top of the list and brightly colored in orange. We are continuing to receive requests for testing and hope with you that you soon will find a potential match who shares significant markers in common with you.

Comment Number:
7
Written by:
Mike
Posted on:
August 6, 2009 at 10:42 am

Wendy #6: thanks for your follow-up. I look forward to when I’ll see more potential matches. :) Right now I believe the issue is that my paternal line is German, and there probably isn’t a very large german customer base for the DNA tests.

I will try to get my mothers paternal line tested, which is American back to the 1700’s. I hope that will reveal more matches.

Comment Number:
8
Written by:
Bill Grant
Posted on:
August 7, 2009 at 9:24 am

I have an adopted first cousin that might have my uncle as her father, but she has no known male relatives. Can we find out if her paternal test and my paternal test would answer this? Can she get a paternal test.

Comment Number:
9
Written by:
Bobby Scott
Posted on:
August 8, 2009 at 5:06 pm

I had my DNA TEST done and I was wondering if it could tell me if and how much native american blood I have. If so how do I request this and who do I contact. I was tested through Ancestry.com

Comment Number:
10
Written by:
Wendy Jessen, Ancestry.com
Posted on:
August 8, 2009 at 8:07 pm

Bill, the Y chromosome test must be taken by a male. A female may arrange for a male relative to act as proxy for her to represent her paternal line. You may want to look into requirements for paternity testing if this is the correct hypothesis you are trying to ascertain and there is no other male relative for a Y test comparison.

Comment Number:
11
Written by:
Wendy Jessen, Ancestry.com
Posted on:
August 8, 2009 at 8:12 pm

Hi Bobby, Ancestry.com DNA test results do not reveal Native American ancestry. Your haplogroup may provide an indication of ancient Native American ancestry, but this is thousands of years in the past. NA ancestry of genealogical relevance currently is identified via a direct maternal or direct paternal lineage and it is only a confirmation of ancestry, not a quantitative measurement.

Comment Number:
12
Written by:
Bill Grant
Posted on:
August 10, 2009 at 10:03 am

Thank you for your response. As I understand it if she has no known male relatives she can not trace her paternal family. I am only a adoptive first cousin, but she thinks her adoptive father was her natural father but she has no evidence of that. Is there any possible way of finding out?

Comment Number:
13
Written by:
Phillip Cushman
Posted on:
August 10, 2009 at 2:09 pm

I have had the same experience as Mike with the number of potential matches remaining stagnant at 250. They don’t seem to respond to efforts to make contact either. What is really disturbing to me, however, is that my paternal DNA from Ancestry came back O2a which makes no sense for my background. I had someone with another testing company look at my data and he came up with R1b1b2 which does make sense. I was not able to get a response from the Ancestry DNA Home section and so I have ordered testing from another source since I had not been aware that this blog existed.

Comment Number:
14
Written by:
Ms. Drever
Posted on:
August 10, 2009 at 7:15 pm

How long do you keep swab samples?

Comment Number:
15
Written by:
Wendy Jessen, Ancestry.com
Posted on:
August 10, 2009 at 7:22 pm

Hi Phillip, Should you ever encounter issues contacting potential matches, please contact dna@ancestry.com. Our Client Services department can validate if an email address exists for the match potential and at times can send a message in your behalf.

Client Services can also check with the laboratory should you have any questions about your haplogroup prediction. It is important to remember that Haplogroup predictors are not laboratory tests, but rather statistical models or algorithms used to estimate haplogroups based on Y-chromosome or mtDNA haplotypes.

I will forward your comment to Client Services so that they may investigate your haplogroup prediction with our laboratory and ask you be contacted directly.

Comment Number:
16
Written by:
Wendy Jessen, Ancestry.com
Posted on:
August 10, 2009 at 7:23 pm

Bill, I would suggest contacting a DNA Laboratory such as Sorenson Genomics (www.sorensongenomics.com) and ask them about their nuclear family testing services. These include not just paternity testing, but also avuncular (aunt/uncle), etc. These tests have different requirements, participants, and results. These could provide a way of finding out.

Comment Number:
17
Written by:
soohootoo
Posted on:
August 12, 2009 at 7:28 pm

Why can’t we upgrad to a 67 marker test?

Comment Number:
18
Written by:
Jeannie
Posted on:
August 13, 2009 at 10:23 am

I recently purchased the Y-46 upgrade but I forget which additional markers are being tested. Can you list them here? Thanks!

Comment Number:
19
Written by:
Wendy Jessen, Ancestry.com
Posted on:
August 13, 2009 at 10:30 am

Jeannie, a listing of the markers for the Ancestry.com DNA tests can be found here.

Comment Number:
20
Written by:
Jeannie
Posted on:
August 14, 2009 at 12:53 pm

Thank you so much for the link, Wendy.

Learning more about DNA has really been a treat! I look forward to making more matches as the database grows.

Comment Number:
21
Written by:
Wendy Jessen, Ancestry.com
Posted on:
August 14, 2009 at 3:24 pm

Samples are stored for a minimum of 10 years.

Comment Number:
22
Written by:
Phillip Cushman
Posted on:
August 15, 2009 at 5:43 am

This is a belated response to my comment #13 and Wendy Jessen’s comment #15: I contacted DNA support on 6 July 2009 and although my comment here indicated that I had been unable to get a response I searched through my emails again and realized that I misspoke. I received a “response” but it was a cut and paste response on how haplogroups were determined that was useless repetition of info already on the website. It did not directly address my query of how someone who should be R1b1** could come up O2. I submitted the data to another resource and was told their analysis of the Ancestry DNA results suggested R1b1b2. Lacking any offer from Ancestry to pursue this I went elsewhere and am waiting for DNA testing to be completed at FTDNA. Do I recommend Ancestry DNA testing to my friends? Silly question.

Cut and Paste of material already on the website is not a satisfactory response for a serious question.

Comment Number:
23
Written by:
Wayne McCauley
Posted on:
August 15, 2009 at 8:50 pm

I was tested by Family Tree DNA to 67 markers two years ago. I just tested my son using 33 markers, but there are three that don’t even have a block to enter into the form. YCAIIa, YCAIIb and Y-GATA H4.1 are useless if we can’t put them into the form!

Now even with the Family Tree DNA DYS 441, 461 and 463 are not tested for. I am assuming my sons values for these are the same as mine.