DNA Ancestry, 4

Unlike chromosomal DNA that is inherited from both parents, you get all your mitochondrial DNA from your mother. Mutations accumulate in mitochondrial DNA more quickly than in chromosomal DNA, so it's possible to trace your maternal ancestry way back beyond any relatives you may know by name—simply by tracking the inheritance of mutations in mitochondrial DNA. Back to where I started a few days ago: I decided to bite the bullet and send in some of my white blood cells to be analyzed for mitochondrial DNA. In due time the results came back. Apparently the markers that DNA Solutions identified show  I am part of “Haplogroup H,” the most common Haplogroup in Europe, occurring in 40%-60^ of the population. I’ll list my numbers below just in case I may be related to some of you. Part 5 tomorrow.

Marker

16519C

152C

263G

315.1C