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Mom to daughter: mtDNA

February 16, 2011

By Staff Reporter

Because in this process mtDNA remains largely unchanged from generation to generation, it’s used to trace the female line back through time. As with the Y chromosome on the male line, mtDNA has proven invaluable in genetic research.
Studies using both have thrown up some interesting results. For instance, a research team in Colombia showed that the great majority of women in that country have Native American mtDNA, whereas the great majority of males have European Y chromosomes, supporting the view that the native male population was decimated by the Spanish conquest.
Relying on purely matrilineal and patrilineal lines, of course, has its limitations. But this situation will change, argue geneticists. In his book “Mapping Human History,” Steve Olson writes: “Soon tests of genetic markers on the chromosomes will reveal the full diversity of our ancestry. Geneticists will be able to show, for example, that a person received a piece of chromosome 21 from Jewish ancestors, a piece of chromosome 3 from African ancestors and so on.”
He adds: “At that point genetic tests will be distinctly less compelling, because they will simply show that everyone is related to everyone else.”

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