National Geographic DNA testing: is the male or female path preferable?

[John Salerno]

I'm thinking about doing the National Geographic DNA test that traces your ancestry, and I was wondering if there are any good reasons to choose between the male and female line when you decide which path you want them to track. Is one more accurate than the other? What are the differences between the two?

 

Thanks.

 

Edit: Here's the description from the NG website:

 

We will test either your mitochondrial DNA, which is passed down each generation from mother to child and reveals your direct maternal ancestry; or your Y chromosome (males only), which is passed down from father to son and reveals your direct paternal ancestry.

Edited September 19, 2011 by John Salerno

[John Salerno]

Anyone have any thoughts? I'm thinking about using the mitochondrial DNA because that's the one that women *have* to use, so it seems that maybe it's more universal than using the Y chromosome method, if that even matters. I suppose either method would show similar migratory patterns in one's deep ancestry, and the divergence would occur more toward the end, depending on if your parents' ancestors are from different areas of the globe. Something like that?

[laurau]

Sorry, I don´t know if one is more informative than the other- depends on whether you´re more interested in your maternal or paternal lineage, i guess.

Here´s an article on the subject of tracing human origins via mitochondrial DNA and Y chromosomal DNA testing :

http://www.ornl.gov/...migration.shtml

Edited September 22, 2011 by laurau

[John Salerno]

Sorry, I don´t know if one is more informative than the other- depends on whether you´re more interested in your maternal or paternal lineage, i guess.

Here´s an article on the subject of tracing human origins via mitochondrial DNA and Y chromosomal DNA testing :

http://www.ornl.gov/...migration.shtml

 

Thanks. I guess maybe it just doesn't matter, except for which side you want to trace.