Happy Father's Day!

Father’s Day gives us time each year to celebrate dads in all of the roles they play in our lives, whether they’re related to us biologically or not. Fathers across the world and throughout history have helped to guide and nurture the next generation.

It was first celebrated in 1910 in Spokane, Washington. Set up by Sonora Smart Dodd, who wanted to create a special day to honour her own father - a Civil War veteran who raised six children alone after the death of their mother - similar to Mother’s Day which had just reached the USA as well. Her initiative gradually gathered support, and has grown into an internationally celebrated holiday.

Your biological father gave you 50% of your autosomal DNA, regardless of your genetic sex. If you have a Y chromosome, however, he will also have passed this on to you.

Unlike mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) which we explored on Mother’s Day, Y-DNA is transmitted from fathers to their sons. This mode of inheritance makes Y-DNA a powerful tool for tracing paternal lineage. Each genetic male inherits their Y chromosome from their father, which means that it remains relatively unchanged as it is passed down through generations. By studying Y-DNA, we can uncover direct genetic links to our paternal ancestors and gain insights into our paternal heritage.

The Y chromosome is one of the two sex chromosomes in humans, the other being the X chromosome. While it carries genes essential for male development and reproductions, the Y chromosome also holds specific Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) that are used to identify paternal haplogroups.

So how can Living DNA help you to use this information to learn more about yourself, and your paternal lineage?

Our version 2 “Sirius” chip has been designed to test >28,000 Y-DNA SNPs. This may not seem like many compared to the 759,757 autosomal SNPs it examines, but it’s worth remembering that Y- DNA itself is much smaller than autosomal, with 16,500 bases compared to autosomal’s 3 billion. We can tell you a lot of information about yourself and your ancestors from those genetic markers.

We start with your haplogroup and haplotype. In the example below you can see that the haplogroup is J2, and the haplotype is J-M67.

But what is a haplogroup? What is a haplotype?

We often describe a haplogroup as being like a person’s branch on the evolutionary family tree, with the haplotype being the twig or leaf that grows from it. A little like a parent-child relationship, but on a much greater scale, with sometimes hundreds of generations between each step. Click on the History of your Haplogroup to learn more about your paternal ancestors.

By analysing Y-DNA sequences, researchers can identify haplogroups, which are groups of related genetic lineages that share a common ancestor. Haplogroups provide a broad picture of ancient paternal ancestry, shedding light on the migration patterns and population movements of our male forebears, allowing us to trace our paternal roots back through different parts of the world all the way to Africa.

Because of the way your fatherline is passed down, lots of people might share your haplogroup, but your haplotype is more unique!

You can see where in the world your haplogroup is found today by clicking on the Distribution Map.

In our example, you can see that haplogroup J2 is present in 28.4% of Kurdish people, 23% of people in Iran, and 719.6% of people in Albania. This doesn’t mean that our Living DNA staff member is 28.4% Kurdish, but that he shares a common ancestor with them. This ancient paternal ancestor could have lived thousands, or even tens-of-thousands of years ago.

Scientists and researchers can use haplogroups in even more exciting ways - including mapping out the routes different groups may have travelled as anatomically modern humans left Africa and populated the rest of the world.

By analysing ancient DNA samples from centuries old burial sites, as well as looking at modern population groups, they can estimate where haplogroups were common in ancient times, and even where they may have originated.

The migration map in your Fatherline results will show you one proposed route for your ancient ancestors. Each circle on the map shows where a different haplogroup is thought to have originated along the route to your own.

This Father’s Day, let’s take a moment to celebrate the men who have shaped our lives and our genetic legacy. Whether it’s our fathers, grandfathers, or distant paternal ancestors, each one has played a vital role in passing down their Y DNA, forming our genetic identity.

If there are any terms or words in this blog you’re unsure about, you can read our jargon-busting post here to help you to understand some of the scientific or technical terms!