Next steps?

[khuebner]

My family began its DNA-test adventures by getting Family Finder and the FGS MtDNA for my mother, who has two mystery grandfathers (she tested in December so we don't yet have downloadable results or the MtDNA).

My brother and I plan to test next (our father is deceased), and the question there is how to proceed and with which companies/tests? Given that we will have the MtDNA from my mother, I grasp that we don't need to test ourselves for that. But...

Would it make the most sense for my brother to do Geno 2.0 first (he's interested in the anthropology) and then transfer the kit to FTDNA for further tests? We definitely want his YDNA as there is a very tempting Huebner project (our family has been unable to take the surname paper trail back to Europe so YDNA might help a lot there), and of course he should also do Family Finder. Or would it be better to start with YDNA and Family Finder? My impression has been that for males Geno 2.0 -> FTDNA makes sense but I'm a beginner at this. He says it is my job to tell him which tests to sign up for.

For me, while I'm interested in Geno 2.0, it seems less vital (if my brother were to do it). I'm intrigued by 23andMe's offerings, and wonder whether I should proceed by doing their test and transferring it to FTDNA in order to get health data, 23andMe matches, and FTDNA matches.

I'm an Ancestry subscriber but am hesitant about doing their test before they make their data downloadable and so forth. However, I have a pretty well-researched tree for the lines that have not brickwalled me.

I'd like to make the most productive and cost-effective decisions about this as I feel that once I persuade cousins and such to test, many will not want to pay and I as the researcher would need to foot the bill (rather than letting my mother do so, which she insists on doing for the three of us). In other words, which sequence of tests gives us the best value?

[ajmr1a1]

My 2 cents.

If you brother is interested in deep ancestry, then go for the Geno 2.0 for him.
It is worth it just for the yDNA SNP's.
If he wants to test yDNA STR's, he should test for a minimum of 37 markers.

If you and your brother test your autosomal DNA, it can be compared to your mothers atDNA (FF) and you can sort out your matches that come from your paternal side.

The most cost effective way to do this is 23andme for you and your brother ($99) and then transfer to FTDNA FF for ($89) for comparison with your mother. You also now have exposure to two DNA databases.

You should consider uploading you atDNA to gedmatch.com as well. (free)
There are "phasing" tools on this site which are very useful.

I agree that you should wait until ancestryDNA releases the raw data because
their results are not subject to independent verification. (which make it suspect)

[khuebner]

Thanks! (Other views also welcomed.)

One thing I've been wondering about is the extent to which third-party matches are actually showing up here. My impression is that of late people are not always seeing any on FTDNA. Is that a temporary thing related to the shift in builds? Granted that no matter what I could work with raw data on Gedmatch, but not everyone uses Gedmatch so if I tested at 23andMe and paid to bring the data here, I'd want to be visible for people.

[teyoung]

One thing I've been wondering about is the extent to which third-party matches are actually showing up here. My impression is that of late people are not always seeing any on FTDNA. Is that a temporary thing related to the shift in builds?

In my case, earlier 3rd party matches are showing. Only transfers from after the conversion started are missing from the Matches page. Advanced Matching is fine. They told me they are aware of the problem and working on it.

[tomcat]

FTDNA has promised to accept transfers of Ancestry raw data as soon as Ancestry makes it available. So, if you took the Ancestry test you would have exposure to their database and the opportunity to add another family profile to Family Finder via a transfer.

I sense your brother is keen to participate in the Genographic Project and such sentiment can be usefully indulged as the Geno 2.0 12K+ Y SNP's are worth the cost of the test. But there is an alternative - a Y-67 from FTDNA and the 23&Me test. His terminal SNP can be predicted from Y-67 and, as 23&Me also tests Y SNP's, that data will confirm the prediction. Thereafter, he would only need to order a-la-carte Y SNP's to stay current with the Y tree.

[khuebner]

Thanks, that's interesting to know about the alternatives on Y testing. I don't know how strong his interest is in Geno 2.0--after all, he did tell me to tell him which tests to take--but my impression was that he was intrigued, so my thinking was that perhaps he could be the family member who did Geno 2.0 as the overall results would probably be similar for me and Geno 2.0 would not be genealogically useful for me to do (from what I've read).

[tomcat]

Geno 2.0 is a gateway test, good for folks new to the field with a casual interest in where they fit in the big picture (hopefully ... depends on what Geno is able to do with all their new data). But for a person, such as yourself, who has already committed to FMS and Family Finder, the only valuable aspect of Geno 2.0 are the Y SNP's.

[khuebner]

Thanks, that helps clarify things. Now, I haven't yet become incredibly familiar with Y-DNA beyond that it traces male line; what are good resources on SNP and STR? I'm sure I've read things but it takes awhile before the details stick when one is a complete beginner.

[khuebner]

Tomcat, just saw your response on another thread re slow SNP mutation and faster SNP mutation. I'll reread the FAQs. (Sometimes I feel like I've read the FAQs to death, but again, one retains some things and not others.)