Mitochondrial DNA testing

mtDNA test

This test traces your maternal lineage, your mother’s mother’s mother’s people. It uses a segment of DNA known as mitochondrial DNA or mtDNA which is passed down the generations from mother to child. Only females pass on this segment of DNA and so it traces only maternal lineages. There are a large number of different mtDNA lineages and groups of lineages which can be recognised by this test. Ethnoancestry tests a very variable section of the mtDNA (hypervariable region 1), which allows different lineages to be distinguished. We will also infer which group your mtDNA lineage is in from this information and data on two or more other sections of the mtDNA.
The mtDNA test can be used for two purposes:

1: To test whether two people are related in the female line, that is if they are mtDNA matches

e.g. you may have traced your family tree back to one of two women in 1840 whom you suspect were sisters, and you have located a female line descendant of the other sister: if they were sisters you should match.

2: To give information on the deep ancestry (thousands of years ago) of your female lineage

e.g. your mtDNA may be in the J group, indicating that your ancestors moved into Europe with the advent of farming c.9,000 years ago, or you may be in group V, which means that your ancestors were the indigenous hunter-gatherers of Europe who weathered the last Ice Age in a refuge in Iberia.

After submitting your saliva sample we will extract your DNA and sequence the HVR1 region (positions 16001-16389 + H and U SNP tests) of your mtDNA. We will then compare your results to our company's extensive database and infer your mitochondrial group. Unlike some other companies, at EthnoAncestry if there is any doubt whatsoever about the assignment of your mtDNA (we have access to a database with 50,000 individuals in it). Further testing to ensure assignment is carried out free of charge.
This can take longer, particularly if your mtDNA is in a very rare group.

You will receive a certificate in pdf format summarising both your lineage and the group it is in.

This test can be run on DNA from males and females!

Order the mtDNA test!

	$179
	$129

Why the difference in price?

Interested in your paternal ancestry too? Explore both your paternal and maternal roots using our Haploview-mtDNA test package:

Order Haploview-mtDNA test package!

	$393
	$343

Why the difference in price?

mtDNA Subgroup tests

If you already know which mtDNA haplogroup you belong to but would like to "dig deeper" we also offer mtDNA subgroup tests for every known mtDNA haplogroup.

NEW!! mtDNA Interpretation

If you have already taken an mtDNA test elsewhere and would like to know to which of our historical lineages you belong, we now offer an interpretation-only service. We will compare your existing mtDNA results to our database and provide you with an mtDNA test pdf certificate. Previous customers of EthnoAncestry benefit from a reduced rate for this service.

Order mtDNA interpretation!

	$70
	$55

Important: Please contact us with your complete mtDNA test results BEFORE placing your order, to allow us to check whether your results are sufficient for our analysis.

Interested in learning more about our research programme?