To clarify who is eligible to test in the Bowles DNA project, the participant must be a male Bowles, whose paternal biological ancestry includes male Bowles' as far back as you know. The surname or Y-DNA test is based on the portion of one's DNA that is passed from father to son. Without getting too technical, male reproductive cells have one Y chromosome and one X chromosome; females have two X chromosomes. If the father contributes a Y chromosome to the mother's X chromosome, the child is male. If the father contributes an X chromosome, the child is female. Thus only male children receive the Y chromosome. It is a small portion of the Y chromosome that is used for this DNA test. The logic is that you can trace a family surname which is traditionally passed from father to child by tracing the Y chromosome that each father gives to each of his sons. Of course we are all aware of instances where a child's biological father is not his father of record, so DNA testing sometimes forces us to reconsider who our ancestors were. Hope this helps. -- Charlie Hartley Bowles DNA Project Administrator [mailto:[email protected]?subject=Bowles DNA Project] Project Web Page: [http://www.ancestors-genealogy.com/bowles/index.html] Project FAQ Page: [http://www.ancestors-genealogy.com/bowles/faqbowlesdna.html] Project JOIN Page: [http://www.familytreedna.com/surname_join.asp?code=W26816&special=true]