Determining the male lineage: Y Chromosome testing

There are different reasons for determining the male lineage through Y Chromosome Testing.  The most common is to determine, through another male family member, the paternity, when the father is not available or deceased. The Y Chromosome test can give you an accurate answer to whether two male persons are connected through the male bloodline.  It is not possible to accurately pinpoint exactly what the relationship is, as two male relatives could easily be brothers, cousins, uncle and nephew to mention a few.  The most common reason for the Y-Chromosome test is to determine if two male siblings are connected, possibly through the father.

What is the Y Chromosome Test used for?

The Y-Chromosome test is an extremely accurate test that is mostly used to determine if there is direct male descent in between two males.  The Y-Chromosome test is an extremely conclusive test that is able to determine if a direct line exists in between two men.  There are different scenarios that work well with The Y Chromosome test, for example in between Uncle and Nephew, two male brothers, male cousins who’s fathers are brothers or Grandfather and grandchild. The Y Chromosome test is mostly useful to determine paternity when the father is not available or deceased.

The Y-Chromosome

Males are the only carriers of the Y-Chromosomes. In fact males have 23 pairs of XY Chromosomes. The X Chromosome carries about 900 – 1400 genes whilst the Y Chromosome carries about 70 – 200 genes. The main characteristics pertaining to the male sex are determined through the Y-Chromosome.  The Y Chromosome carries a lower amount of genes when compared to the X Chromosome.  Some genes are common in both the X and the Y Chromosome whilst some are only specific to the Y-Chromosome.  Certain disorders, like male infertility and testicular problems are linked to the Y Chromosome.

What are the cautions with the y Chromosome Test?

It is very important to take into consideration certain factors when considering the Y-Chromosome test as the outcome of the result is based on certain assumptions.  For example, in the case were two male siblings want to find out if they share the same father or not.  We could assume that they have the same father if their Y-Chromosome is a match but this is based on the assumption that there is no possible involvement of any other male relative to the alleged father (example uncle, grandfather etc).  Males from the same family, which are connected through the same male lineage, would also have the same Y-Chromosome.  So if there is a question of paternity in between two alleged fathers that are brothers, you would not get an accurate result because in any way we would still have a Y-Chromosome test result that indicates that their Y-Chromosomes match.

What else can the Y Chromosome Test be used for?

There are various other situations in which The Y Chromosome can be useful.  The Y Chromosome is easier to detect that a normal DNA profile and is therefor used in many different cases were identification is required.  It is mostly found in many different type of samples.  A popular choice for the infidelity test as it can help in detecting the presence of a male candidate in suspicious stains on sheets or undergarments.  The Y Chromosome is also useful in helping a person gain more information about his paternal ancestral origin or their male lineage.

More about your ancestry

There are many reasons to carry out ancestry DNA testing; ancestry testing can tell you so much about your history and ancestors, that which you cannot find out any other way than by doing such a test. The test will link you to your deep and far back geogenetic  roots going back thousands and thousands of years. Ancestry DNA testing: A General Overview