SHERRY, thanks for simply explanation. marie, iowa -----Original Message----- From: SHERRY MAZZETTI [mailto:sherrymazzetti1@prodigy.net] Sent: Thursday, December 11, 2003 3:20 AM To: SELLERS-L@rootsweb.com Subject: RE: [SELLERS] WHICH DNA TEST? Marie and All--This is my understanding of the most common DNA tests available. If a female is tested, the test will be for her mitochondrial DNA aka Mtdna--a straight line female test--from her to mother, grandmother, greatgrandmother, etc. Males are tested for Ydna--a straight male line DNA--from him to father, grandfather, etc. (Because a male also carries his mother's mitochondrial D, technically a male could be tested for his direct female line, although none of his children could, as they inherit his wife's Mtdna. For our purposes, this is irrelevant.) For a Sellers line to be tested, a direct male Sellers descendant is needed. Presumably, under the assumption that paternity is known, any male whose surname is Sellers can be tested.The age of any living person is probably irrelevant. Most mutations occur about once in 10,000 yrs., at least for Mtdna. In any case, they are rare events. I would love to see if/how Johann Michael aka John Michael aka Michael Sellers of Bracken Co. KY is related to me, but only his direct male descendants will show if he is related to other Sellers in our discussions. My Mtdna results (which I have) show nothing to link me to any of my male ancestors. Note that there are more sophisticated tests which use a number of markers to determine if any given child is the child of a particular set of parents--sometimes a paternity test and sometimes a combination of genetic markers from nuclear DNA to determine if a dead person is a couple's child--as in the Laci Peterson case. (Blood types can also be used to some degree, usually to exclude a father when the mother is known.) Don't know if this makes sense. Hope so. Sherry