Presumed positive haplogroup?

[hypnotize815]

I recently got my father's Y DNA haplogroup results, based on the color coded legend under haplotree and SNPs it is presumed haplogroup R-M198. We did a Y37 test.

My dad doesn't have any Y chromosome matches. Why is this?

Ancestral origins on Y12 marker are: Germany, Netherlands, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Sweden. No ancestral origins under Y25 or Y37.

Y-DNA - Haplogroup Origins Results:
You have no close matches at this time. Our database is constantly growing and we expect more people to test in the future who are near matches to you. Please check this section periodically for new matches.

R-M198 is a subgroup of R-M198

Parent haplogroup: R-M198
Age: 10,000
Region: Central Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, Eastern and Northern Europe.

I am lost at this point, my dad doesn't have a single match on the Y chromosome. Not a single match!! Is he a sub haplogroup that hasn't been identified yet? Ethnically we are Pakistani. My paternal grandmother had blue eyes, and a very dark complexion. They also have varying complexions in their family. My fathers family ranges from blue eyes to dark brown, red hair to dark hair. My father says they immigrated from Afghanistan to northern Pakistan.

In Family Finder his only matches are 5th remote cousins.

What do you guys think?

[dna]

There are many genetically distinct populations in Pakistan. That could be a reason your father does not have any matches, yet.

There could be other reasons. For example, does any of the STR results read 0 ?

It looks like your family could be from Pashtuns. On Internet there are many pictures of Pashtuni people showing that they could look even more European than Iranians. I am not posting any here, since I do not have time at this moment to find the ones of undisputed authenticity.

There are other ethnic groups in Pakistan with men carrying R-M198 (R1a1a). And you would be able to tell us possible names given that you probably know the general area your family came from. Try to match what you know with the following table in Wikipedia Y-DNA haplogroups in populations of South_Asia


You have to remember that R-M198 tells you only about the Y DNA line, and the ancestry of everybody else in your family could be very different.

If your budget allows that, there are additional tests both for Y DNA (Big Y) and for autosomal DNA (Family Finder) and for mtDNA. Especially Family Finder and mtDNA nicely complement knowledge of your genetic heritage. The Big Y test would only expand your knowledge about Y DNA.


When I tried to use Google while searching for DNA and Pakistan, it was kind of difficult since DNA is an often used shorthand for Daily News and Analysis

Although the following two papers do not mention R-M198, you may want to read them anyway to learn what you and your father can expect. I am guessing that not much... For both papers, their PDF version is available for a free download.

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fgene.2018.00004/full

The Geographic Origins of Ethnic Groups in the Indian Subcontinent: Exploring Ancient Footprints with Y-DNA Haplogroups
David G. Mahal, Ianis G. Matsoukas
Frontiers in Genetics, vol. 9, 23 January 2018
doi:10.3389/fgene.2018.00004

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002929707625075

Y-Chromosomal DNA Variation in Pakistan
Raheel Qamar, Qasim Ayub, Aisha Mohyuddin, Agnar Helgason, Kehkashan Mazhar, Atika Mansoor, Tatiana Zerja, Chris Tyler-Smith, S. QasimMehdi
American Journal of Human Genetics vol. 70, Issue 5, May 2002, Pages 1107-1124
doi:10.1086/339929

That second one is very old. Considering advances in genetics of populations, it is most likely obsolete and possibly wrong... However, it has a nice summary (Table 1. Pakistani Ethnic Groups Studied) of various ideas on suggested origins of Pakistani populations. Since these ideas were developed before genetic testing, it is difficult to say which ones, if any, were proven to be correct.


Mr. W.