Y Chromosome

Only a male carries and passes the Y Chromosome. Almost every human has 46 chromosomes (23 pairs). 44 of these chromosomes are Nuclear DNA, non-sex chromosomes. The other 2 are sex chromosomes, the female has X, X (2 X chromosomes), and the male has and X, Y.

 The Y Chromosome is passed from generation to generation, father to son. The DNA in the Y chromosome virtually remains the same in each generation, meaning, the DNA will match even after many generations.

For genealogy purposes, Y chromosome testing has become extremely significant to the study. This can be interpreted as the surname DNA test; if you match with others, this proves a relation. Your Y chromosome can tell you much more about your past.

Your Y chromosome gets slightly mutated through out the years. It can be many generations before one mutation shows up on a test analysis. This is due to the environment in which your blood line migrated.

This is how DNA researchers understand your family history path of migration. There are online databases that display other's DNA (with their permission), and allow you to see who you match with. These DNA databases are growing everyday.

Everyone fits in a Haplogroup. A Haplogroup is a group of people with similar DNA patterns. Here are the Y Chromosome Haplogroups.

 You can take a DNA test to analyze your Y chromosome. Family Tree DNA offers the most comprehensive test in the world. With a 67 marker test and the largest DNA database your findings are limitless. Preserve your family legacy.