National Geographic Genographic Project Q&A Compilation

Question #1: When a FTDNA customer uploads to the Genographic Project, will he/she be sent the spiffy DVD and other stuff that Genographic Project participants get?

Answer: No. (FTDNA participants do receive the Genographic personal website)

Question #2:  Concerning haplogroups, part of what I think is going on is:
   a. if somebody does a Y-DNA test via the NGS GP, and his 12-markers are such that a haplogroup cannot be reliably
       predicted, then a SNP test is automatically performed with  no additional fee?

AnswerIn that case he's not added to the GP until we do a SNP test and confirm the Haplogroup.

   b. if somebody does a Y-DNA test via FTDNA, and his 12-markers are such that a haplogroup cannot be reliably predicted, then a SNP test is going to cost the fellow another $65?

Answer:  That is correct.  The customer needs to weigh how important is the Haplogroup for him, and if he wants to receive the 12 markers before knowing if the Haplogroup can be predicted or not so that he can start his genealogical findings, including upgrades. In this case, FTDNA is more attractive.  If genealogy is not the primary concern, and the person is not concerned about waiting a longer time to have a SNP confirmation, the Genographic option is more attractive.

Question #3:  So then, somebody who first tests with the Geno Project pays $99 and if his haplogroup cannot be estimated then he is required to pay $65 to get a SNP test before uploading to FTDNA ... is this right?

AnswerNo additional payment. FTDNA had to absorb the cost as part of the deal with NG.

Question #4: (Question about the SNP testing requirement)

AnswerThe test needs to be ordered only if it cannot be predicted with a minimum level of certainty that was required by the Genographic Project, through an algorithm used during the conversion process.

Question #5:
Printing my "documents" was problematic...

Answer: I found that the documents printed if I only checked one document, printed it, then checked the next one, printed it and then the next.

Question #6:  I'm a male. Can I send a Genographic sample in, identified as female, to get mitochrondial results? I want both mt and Y tests done (would send a separate sample as male for the Y). Since FTDNA does the testing, and obviously males have mt, would this be a problem?

Answer: You can send the test to Natl Geo and mark it female for the mtDNA to be tested. Once you get their results, you will be able to upload the results to us through a link that they will offer and then order a Y-DNA test for less than $99.95.

Question #7: Is there a way to ask either Family Tree DNA or the Genographic Project people if they intend to use mitochondrial results for any part of this project?  I ask this because there is some mention of mitochondrial DNA in the write-up.

Answer: Sure. Both Y-DNA and mtDNA tests are being offered and both can be uploaded from the FTDNA personal results page to the Genographic Project.

Question #8:  Can I donate funds directly to the Genographic Project?

Answer: For those who want to donate directly to the Genographic Project, go to this page and click on one of the donation links:

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/donate/geno_fund.html

You can designate any fund, including the Genographic Project.  If you have already been tested for 12 markers or HVR1, it is a waste of resources to be retested.

Question #9:  If you have been tested for both your Y and mito haplogroups do you need to submit twice and pay the $15 twice or will one submission work?

Answer:  It is my understanding that you have to pay the fee twice since the uploads go to two different databases in the Genographic Project. But please note that the fee is not for FamilyTreeDNA's treasury or benefit. The fee is collected by FTDNA but is ultimately sent to the National Geographic Society Genographic Project to fund the worldwide testing program of indigenous peoples.

Question #10: I just checked on my Genographic Project and I am in haplogroup K.  16624C, 16311C, 16519C
I checked my results diagram and they have added a SNPs button, when I click on it, it shows K10550.  Would someone explain what that means?

Answer: K10550 is the coding-region mutation, usually written 10550G or A10550G, used by FTDNA and the Genographic Project to determine if a person is in K.  They use 22 different coding-region mutations for this purpose.

Question #11: How will the Genographic Project results be made public?

Answer: In scientific papers. 

 


 

Sources:
Question #1-3 - Posted on ISOGG Yahoo Group 219 thru 224 - Answers provided by Max Blankfeld
Question #4- Posted on Rootsweb GENEALOGY-DNA-L Archives - #1118191735 - Answer provided by Max Blankfeld
Question #5- Posted on Rootsweb GENEALOGY-DNA-L Archives - #
1118289496
Question #6- Posted on FTDNA's "The Genographic Project Forum" - by reconn
Question #7 - Posted on ISOGG Yahoo Group 245 thru 246 - Answer provided by Max Blankfeld
Question #8- Answer posted on Rootsweb GENEALOGY-DNA-L Archives - #
1118349112
Question #9 - Posted on ISOGG Yahoo Group 247 thru 248
Question #10 - Posted on DNA-NEWBIE Group 6688 - Answer provided by Bill Hurst - See also
Question #11- Answer posted by Bonnie Schrack on Rootsweb GENEALOGY-DNA-L Archives - #1173717258


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