Geno 2.0 - My Autosomal SNP Genetic Profile Most Closely Matches Modern Germans

My autosomal SNP genetic results from National Geographic's Genographic Project using the cutting edge science Geno 2.0 test kit:

Of all world reference populations, my overall autosomal SNP genetic profile most closely matches the profile of the modern German population. I expected to match the modern English population most closely genetically, but I don't. So, while my top match for deep ancestry locates to Sweden (by autosomal STR analysis), the modern population I match most closely according to National Geographic (by autosomal SNP analysis) is the German population.

My Top Population Matches

Eurogenes K9 Chromosome Painting Of My Population Percentages

Chromosome Painting

This is the Eurogenes K9 chromosome painting of my population percentages. Look at all that blue Northern European!

A map showing the K9 populations is available HERE.

Population descriptions are available HERE.

My Position Among (POPRES) European Populations By High Resolution Principal Component Analysis Using PC1 Vs. PC4

My earlier POPRES European post was plotted using the wrong Principal Components for this particular analysis. In the earlier post I used PC1 and PC2. I was supposed to use PC1 and PC4. So, here is my corrected graph. In this corrected analysis, my closest European genomic neighbors are Sweden (SE) and Norway (NO).

Finland (FI) falls a bit above me (csv) on the graph. The countries clustering near Finland are Germany (DE), Norway (NO), Poland (PL) and Latvia (LV). In the mass nearest to me on the right in the graph are the United Kingdom (UK), the Netherlands (NL), Sweden (SE), Poland (PL) and Ireland (IE).

This high resolution graph (using 74,000 SNPs) was generated by uploading my autosomal SNP csv raw data file to Stanford's Interpretome site and using their tool to do all the hard work.

No Neanderthal For Me?

My autosomal SNP's don't evidence any trace of Neanderthal admixture? How can this be? This pie chart resulted from swishing my SNP csv file through Stanford's Neanderthal Explore tool. All of my alleles scored zero (not shown).

In the Thick of Things Now

The first graph shows my position among Middle Eastern and Jewish populations using high resolution (SNP n=100,000) Principal Component Analysis, comparing PC4 and PC5. Not sure what the definitions of PC1-10 are yet, but once I know what these components actually consist of, maybe I can interpret the results more clearly. Nevertheless, I am in the thick of things in this graph (and even more so in the second graph which compares PC9 and PC10 by high resolution). Okay, so I may not be such an outlier in every component comparison. I need to find out the definitions of the principal components.

A Northwestern European Jewish Neanderthal in the Data Hole

 
Well, here I am again in the data hole among Middle Eastern and Jewish populations. By high resolution Principal Component Analysis using 100,000 autosomal SNP's and Stanford's Interpretome tool, just like in the European panels as an individual of Northwestern European ancestral descent, I am an outlier as an individual of ancestral Jewish descent in this Middle Eastern panel. My closet genomic neighbor on this graph are the Iranians.

It is interesting that in the high resolution panels containing data from both of my primary ancestral ethnicities (Northwestern European and Jewish), I am an outlier. 

My genome is strange, I think. Yes, as I wrote in the earlier post, maybe I am mostly Neanderthal (just kidding, I think).

Me in the Northwestern European Data Hole Again & Again Using 100,000 Autosomal SNP's

At high resolution, using 100,000 autosomal SNP's, here I am again by region (and again, in more regional detail) in the data hole where very likely other Northwestern Europeans rest as well.

Okay, I admit it - I'm really half Neanderthal. :)

Big Hole in the Reference Population Data and I am in It

 
In followup to earlier posts, this graph shows my genomic position among the reference populations in the database (which lacks a clear reference population for Northwestern Europeans, which is a significant population for accurately assessing my ancestral links). I'm really disappointed that Northwestern Europe is not clearly referenced. This lack of representation represents a big hole in the reference population data which is further highlighted by the many world graphs in which I am an outlier. My populations are very likely in this BIG HOLE in the data.

My Position Among (HGDP) Asian Populations By Principal Component Analysis Using 1000 SNP's

In followup to earlier HGDP population posts (World, European general, European specific, Middle East & Jewish, and African), these graphs plot my genomic position among specific (top) and regional (bottom) Asian (HGDP) populations using 1000 autosomal SNP's and Standford's Interpretome tool. My genomic neighbors on these graphs are Burusho, Sindhi, Brahui, Makrani, Balochi and Pathan. I'm not even sure what populations these names represent, so I have some investigating to do, especially since they look pretty proximal to me genomically. Who are these peoples? Inquiring minds want to know, stay tuned ...

My Position Among (POPRES) European Populations By Principal Component Analysis Using 1000 SNP's

Wow. I am a huge outlier on this graph.

UPDATE - I was supposed to use PC1 vs. PC4 (instead of PC1 vs. PC2 as I did in this graph). Here is the corrected graph.

My Position Among African (HGDP) Populations By Principal Component Analysis Using 1000 Autosomal SNP's

In followup to earlier HGDP population posts (World, European general, European specific, Middle East & Jewish), this graph plots my genomic position among African (HGDP) populations using 1000 autosomal SNP's and Standford's Interpretome tool. As with the World populations graph, I am also an outlier on this graph as well, with none of the African populations graphed coming into close proximity to me. I did match the North African Berber tribe on my mtDNA motherline results, but that tribe is not listed on this graph as one of the primary African populations in the database.

My Position Hubs Specific European (HGDP) Populations By Principal Component Analysis Using 1000 Autosomal SNP's

In followup to an earlier post, this graph provides more detail as to my genomic position among specific European HGDP populations. According to this plot, my most proximal genomic neighbors are Orcadian, French and Basque, with some Tuscan, North Italian, Russian and Sardinian. Like in the previous European graph, my genome falls in the hub of the entire cluster. This makes sense, given my mtDNA motherline haplogroup is U5 (specifically U5b), the oldest motherline in Europe.

My Position Among Middle Eastern & Jewish Populations By Principal Component Analysis Using 1000 Autosomal SNP's

In follow-up to my previous two posts (which look at my genomic position among HGDP World and HGDP European populations), this graph plots my genomic position among Middle Eastern and Jewish populations using 1000 autosomal SNP's and Standford's Interpretome tool. Highlighting the individual data points on the original graph at the Standford site, my closest genomic neighbors on the graph are Yemenese (purple square to my left), Ashkenazi Jews (purple diamond below me), Egyptians (beige upright triangle to my right), Yemen Jews (green triangle southwest of me), Sephardic Jews (tan triangle northwest of me), Saudis, Syrians, Jordanians, Moroccans, Morocco Jews, Turks, Lebanese, and Samaritans. So, these populations are genetically close to me, as far as our autosomal SNP's are concerned. Interestingly, though Armenia, Hungary and Russia matched significantly on my mtDNA motherline HVR-1 and HVR-2 results from Roots for Real, neither Armenians, Hungarians nor Russians show up in close proximity to me here on these autosomal SNP results. Though I rest on the top right edge of the Middle Eastern and Jewish populations cluster, I clearly fall within the area of the primary cluster (unlike with my HGDP World population map, where I was a rather clear outlier even though I did fall close to the European, Near Eastern and one of two African clusters).

My Position Among European (HGDP) Populations By Principal Component Analysis Using 1000 Autosomal SNP's

In follow-up to my previous post (looking at my position among world HGDP populations), using 1000 autosomal SNP's and Stanford's Interpretome tool, this graph plots my genomic position among European (HGDP) populations (PC1 vs. PC2). I don't fall within the Basque (mostly to the right of me), Eastern European (to the left of me) or Southern European (also mostly to the right of me) clusters. I clearly fall within the Northern European cluster which is situated pretty much like a central hub connecting all of the other European clusters. This plot suggests to me (in my layperson's opinion anyway) that the prehistoric beginnings of modern Europeans may have sparked out into other areas of Europe from Northern Europe. In other words, Northern Europe is the ancient ancestral homeland of all modern Europeans (of primarily European ancestry). By what name are we known today as a people way back then? Will investigate, stay tuned ...

My Position Among (HGDP) World Populations By Principal Component Analysis Using 1000 Autosomal SNP's

I've uploaded my raw autosomal SNP genomic data from my Family Tree csv file to Standford's Interpretome and am analyzing my genome using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). In the graph shown, using 1000 autosomal SNP's, I've plotted my genomic position among the HGDP World Population sample. I am represented by the black square. I fall outside all of the major clusters of all world populations in this low resolution (1000 SNP's) analysis, but I do fall near the clusters for Europeans, Near Easterners and some (North?) Africans (I match to the North African Berber tribe by autosomal STR analysis). It looks like I may be a genuine outlier - yes, I am definitely a byte of a wyrd one on this plot. I am going to also do this analysis using 100,000 SNP's to achieve higher resolution and by using the Hapmap World Population to see if the results are any different and/or more resolved than is this map. Stay tuned ...

Scandinavian DNA in Orkney

In follow-up to my previous post reporting my autosomal SNP genetic results, and that I am ethnically over 87% from Western Europe (and significantly Orcadian), this article reports on the admixture of Pictish-Celtic and Scandinavian genes among the Scottish -

It revealed that equal proportions of Scandinavian males and females settled in Orkney, which they found to have an overall Scandinavian ancestry of approximately 30%.

So, along with my straight-up Viking ancestry which may have originated in Finland, Scandinavian ancestry significantly admixes into my Celtic ancestry through Orkney as well.

The blood of the vikings - Orkney's genetic heritage

Autosomal DNA SNP Population Results

According to the autosomal SNP genetic analysis I had done through Family Tree DNA, I am 87.06% (blue) Western European (my specific subpopulations - French, Orcadian-Scotland's Orkney Islands, Spanish) and 12.94% (orange) from other areas of Europe (my specific subpopulations - Tuscan, Finnish, Romanian, Russian, Sardinian).

I have no appreciable genetic links to ancient Basque or Italian populations by autosomal SNP analysis (although I do have links to the Italian peninsula through ancient Tuscany). Sweden and Norway are not part of the reference populations (see map), so it may be that the SNP population data for these two areas are still under scientific development (autosomal SNP genetic analysis is still developing its population databases I think).

Even as a developing method of ancestral analysis (in contrast to autosomal STR ancestral analysis), I suppose these autosomal SNP ancestral analysis results are in general agreement with the autosomal STR genetic results in that they also report that my genetic ancestry is largely Celtic (originating in Scotland's Orkney Islands with the ancient Picts) and then later Scandinavian (likely originating in Finland, which has a history intimately intertwined with Russia, Norway and Sweden).

Ancient Pictish history is tied to both the Celtic and Scandinaivian peoples. Also importantly, the ancient Neolithic Picts themselves originally came from the Iberian Peninsula (which is Mediteranean and explains Spain). Before that, they came from North Africa.

Sardinia and Tuscany are near and in the Italian Peninsula, but are distinct populations from Italy proper (see reference populations on map). In prehistorical times, Tuscany lost territory to the Celts, so it is likely some ancient Etruscan Tuscans simply got absorbed into the Celtic (Pictish-Celtic) gene pool. The first settlers of prehistoric Sardinia came from Etruria (present day Tuscany) and the Iberian peninsula (Spain), so the Sardinia result is also explained by these populations becoming admixed with the Pictish-Celtic gene pool. Both Sardinian and Tuscan genes found their way into the Pictish-Celtic gene pool via Spain.

The oldest human traces in Europe are found in France - "The oldest traces of human life in what is now France date from approximately 1,800,000 years ago." Consequently, the French result likely reflects my most ancient genetic beginnings in Europe (even possibly through Neanderthals, since 1-4% of the genome of all Eurasians has been contributed to us by Neanderthals), and in consideration of the fact that my motherline mitochondrial genetic haplogroup is U5, the oldest motherline haplogroup in Europe, arising in Europe approximately 50,000 years ago when the first homo sapiens came to Europe.

Like France, prehistoric Romania evidences some of the first homo sapiens to inhabit Europe. Also, ancient Celts lived in Northwestern Romania, so Romania also links up with ancient Celtic civilization, which likewise links back to the ancient Picts in Orkney (Scotland).

Taking all this together, it reasonable to say that my primary ancestral heritage (by autosomal SNP genetic analysis) is Pictish-Scottish-Celtic (with associated links to Northeastern, Southern and Southeastern Europe as discussed above) and Scandinavian-Finnish (with associated links to Russia and other Scandinavian countries as discussed above). This is in general agreement with my autosomal STR genetic analysis results which also tell me I am mostly Celtic and Scandinavian, with ancient genetic admixtures from other areas of Europe figuring into my genetic stew.

According to information at the Family Tree DNA website, these results reflect my ancestry for the last 100-2000 years (40-80 generations) and "may also reflect one population that mixed with another in ancient times and became fixed in the second population."

Autosomal DNA Tests - STR Versus SNP Based

My first autosomal DNA test done through DNATribes was (short tandem repeats) STR-based (used genetic markers developed by the FBI for individual identification). The autosomal DNA test I am having done through Family Tree is (single nucleotide polymorphisms) SNP-based. I'm anxious to compare the results from these two autosomal tests to see what they say differently (if anything) about my comprehensive genetic ancestry (includes all of my genetic ancestors).

Full Sequence mtDNA + Autosomal DNA SNP Testing Kit On Its Way!

I just checked my account at Family Tree DNA and my kit for fully sequencing my mtDNA (plus finding more genetic family motherline matches) and doing an autosomal DNA SNP analysis is on its way to me now! You know, ancestral genetics is very addictive! I'm loving this! This service provider has alot of good resources on its site - there are pages which spell out the required genetic markers for each haplogroup, clade and subclade - I really that. Many links to scientific papers - I like that too!

Finding Forgotten Jewish Ancestry Using DNA "Reading Between the Genes"