AncestryDNA® uses an autosomal DNA test that looks at over 700,000 DNA markers across your genome to give you information about the maternal and paternal sides of your family tree. This comprehensive test gives you a detailed breakdown of your ancestral origins and can help you find genetic relatives in the largest commercial DNA database.
But what are DNA markers?
DNA markers are specific places in our DNA that can vary from person to person. These markers act like little flags and help scientists find genes linked to certain traits or genetic ethnicity.
Let’s break that down a little bit.
DNA’s structure is made up of a string of chemical building blocks called nucleotides. These nucleotides are often referred to by their letter codes: A, C, T, G. Your DNA strands read like a long list of letters. For example, the first ten letters of a gene could be A-T-G-A-T-G-C-A-G-G.
Even though your DNA has more than 3 billion letters chained together, when you compare it to someone else’s, about 99.9% of those letters are the same! The very small amount of variation in the DNA between people is mostly from single-letter differences at specific places in their DNA. For example, you might have a T where your friend has a G. The places where DNA commonly varies between people are called single nucleotide polymorphisms or “SNPs” for short (pronounced “snips”).
AncestryDNA scientists have carefully chosen more than 700,000 DNA markers across your DNA to analyze. These DNA markers are made of SNPs that help us explore your family’s history, reveal your ancestor’s origins, and uncover how all of this was passed down to you.
