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The “J-Project” was founded by Bonnie Schrack in 2006 and until 2013 has done considerable research in the J2 area, mainly SNP research (Z385-Z639, Z2220-Z2397) from public Y-Sequences to improve the Haplogroup-Phylogeny and provide updates to the ISOGG tree (accepted also by scientists). To backup important news from this time period and make them available for search here, a copy and paste of the original J-Project News page is inserted here:
Shortcut to: 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006
End September 2013:
Dear J Haplogroup Project members,
Thank you for your participation in our project. Because of your contributions, the project has grown to the point where it has become too large to manage effectively. We’ve realized that the interests of the individual member will be best served in J1 and J2 projects partnering with even more terminal projects.
July-September 2013: J1 transition done.
Since August 2013: J2 transition is in preparation, and J2 members will be notified when it’s ready to launch.
The J Haplogroup Project will remain in place for some time, though without research on J1 and other terminal groups. If you have any questions, please contact us.
The J Haplogroup Administrators
End August 2013: Transfer to J1 Project is complete. J-Project Stats: 1483 Total Members (2 x J1), Y-DNA12 1446, Y-DNA25 1237, Y-DNA37 1184, Y-DNA67 770, Y-DNA111 178, Y-DNA Deep Clade (Prior to 2008) 205, Y-DNA Deep Clade (After 2008) 323, Paternal Ancestor Information 1099, Genographic 2.0 Transfers 81.
July 2013: Dear J Haplogroup Project members,
Thank you for your participation in our project. Because of your contributions, the project has grown to the point where it has become too large to manage effectively. We’ve realized that the interests of the individual member will be best served with a smaller, more specific group.
We’re excited to announce the formation of the J1 Y-haplogroup Project, administered by a team that includes current J Project administrators Marco Ricci and Victar Mas. Having the project focused on just J1 and subclades will allow for greater ease in grouping and more specificity in comparisons, as well as for ease in in-depth research of the various subclades.
A J2-specific project is in the planning stages, and our J2 members will be notified when it’s ready to launch.
Beginning August 1st, the team will be transferring the J1 members to the J1 Y-DNA Project. If for any reason you do not wish to move to the J1 project, please let us know. The move isn’t mandatory, but it is recommended.
The J Haplogroup Project will remain in place for some time, though without further research on J1, so if you choose to be in both projects, you may do so by re-joining it after your kit has been moved to the J1 group. If you have any questions about the J1 group or the transition process, please contact us.
Again, thank you for your participation.
The J Haplogroup Administrators
June 2013: Father’s Day Y-DNA UPGRADE SALE!
From June 12, 2013 through June 19, 2013, FTDNA will reduce the following prices.
Y-DNA12 to 25 was $49 now $35, Y-DNA12 to 37 was $99 now $69, Y-DNA12 to 67 was $189 now $148;
Y-DNA25 to 37 was $49 now $35, Y-DNA25 to 67 was $148 now $114, Y-DNA25 to 111 was $249 now $224;
Y-DNA37 to 67 was $99 now $79; Y-DNA37 to 111 was $220 now $188;
Y-DNA67 to 111 was $129 now $109
To order an upgrade at these special prices you can log into your personal pages with your kit number and password. Click on the “Order Upgrade” button located on the right side of the menu bar. Then click on the “Special Offers” button.
ALL ORDERS MUST BE PLACED AND PAID FOR BY 11:59pm, JUNE 19, 2013, TO RECEIVE THE SALE PRICE.
Feb. 20, 2013: FTDNA sale – 12-marker Y-DNA Test lowered from $99 to $39: If you like to test a (distant) cousin or have an extra sample of your father or brother stored at FTDNA for future analysis do order until the end of this sale February 28, 2013. FTDNA Y-DNA12 Promo.
Jan, 2013: Genographic Project Geno 2 male customers who are tested positive for M304 Y-SNP, please transfer your data (in Profile / Expert Options) for free to Family Tree DNA to your existing kit-number or create a new account and join this project to give and receive more information about your paternal lineage origin and roots in the Y-chromosome tree. Downloaded Geno 2 Data files with the Y-DNA-SNP results are also welcome (please ask Project Admins).
Nov. 13, 2012: FTDNA Holiday Sale 2012! (products link). Also for new 37/67 marker kits. Especially low marker kits should use this period until 31 of December to upgrade.
Go to myFTDNA > Order an Upgrade > Order Special Offers > Select A Product:
12 Marker kits: Y-Refine12to25 $35 ($49), Y-Refine12to37 $69 ($99), Y-Refine12to67 $148 ($189);
25 Marker kits: Y-Refine25to37 $35 ($49), Y-Refine25to67 $114 ($148);
37 Marker kits: Y-Refine37to67 $79 ($99), Y-Refine37to111 $188 ($200);
67 Marker kits: Y-Refine67to111 $109 ($129);
August 8, 2012, CR – Major update to the ISOGG J tree nomenclature (v7.43 – 7 August 2012): private SNPs have been eliminated from the tree and big haplogroups have a new name: J-P58 = J1b2 (former J1c3), J-L26 = J2a1 (former J2a3). The clades are always listed in order of when the SNPs were first discovered or reported.
August 6, 2012, BES – Friends, we appreciate very much all the orders of L927, which have allowed us to learn much more about its place on the tree. All of the test results have been positive, contrary to expectations. Thomas Krahn has now explained that the one L927 test result which was reported as negative (ancestral), was actually a NULL result — that is, the lab could not produce any result for that sample. The negative result, as it was reported, led us to believe that it would be useful in splitting J2a3. We now know that it’s probably equivalent to L26 and L27, though we’ll be glad to have results confirming that from all subclades.
Now there are two points for you to consider. One, to prevent future trouble that could be caused for us and all the other projects, by NULL results being reported as negative, we need to let FTDNA know of our strong feelings that this must change. Thomas Krahn has advocated this change for years, but has not been able to get it fixed, all by himself. So please, write (politely) to FTDNA and ask them to have their IT department report all NULL SNP results as such, rather than as negative (ancestral). It’s just a matter of their prioritizing this as a task for IT. If you will be attending the FTDNA conference this fall, that will also be a great opportunity to advocate for it.
Second, the really good news is that I’ve been able to find many good strong SNPs in a J2a3* sample (called HG01991) we just got access to in the 1000 Genomes project data, and these will soon be developed into some SNPs that you can order. This new Peruvian sample is L26+, M67-, but it shares many of these new SNPs with all of the M67+ samples. This means that these SNPs are located upstream of M67, within J2a3, and should indeed allow us to define a new branch of J2a3 (which may include some of the existing branches). HG01991 is also negative for the new SNPs Z2220, Z2221, and Z2222, which are positive in another J2a3* sample, and also positive in all the L24+ SNPs. Thus, in the 1000 Genomes Project data, we’ve found two mutually exclusive branches of J2a3! For now, it would be very useful to start testing Z2220, while we wait for the availability of the new SNPs. Anyone in J2a3* can try it, especially if your haplotype is similar to those that are L24+.
And finally, we can look forward to many more valuable new J SNPs, because data from seven completely new J samples have just become available from 1000 Genomes! I’ll be analyzing that data a.s.a.p.!
July 19, 2012, CR: Incoming kit results give a first idea about the new structure of J2a3 L26+ branches: 16364 (J2a3d M319+) is L927+, 122074 (was J2a3* L26+) is L927+ L250.2+ L1064+, 115615 (was J2a3* Cluster B L26+) is L927+, 14919 (was J2a3* Unclustered L26+) is L927+, 9856 (J2a3i L198+) is L250.2- , 18066 (J2a3* Cl. F L26+) is L250.2-, 182443 (J2a3* Cl. A1 L26+) is L250.2-, 212279 (J2a3* Cl. C L26+) is L250.2-
June 25, 2012, BES: L927 is a major new SNP we’ve been hoping to find for years, which will split J2a3 (L26+) into two branches! J2a3b (M67+) and J2a3h (L24+) are both L927+! J2a3* Cluster C looks like it’s L927-. What about the others? We ask many members of J2a3*, and its smaller subclades, to test L927, and help us discover the new shape of our J2a3 phylotree! See recommendations in Results table and MolGen Forum L927.
June 21, 2012, MR: We encourage project members under J1c3d to test Z644 in order to see how widespread this SNP is. Distinctive markers: DYS561=14 & DYS635=20 in the 111 marker set. See MolGen Forum Z644.
June 2012, BES: New SNP to test under J1c3d (L147.1+): L1253, now available for ordering! This SNP was found in the WTY of kit N42042, a member of the Graham-Jordan cluster, which has been called “J1c3d*, P58+, L147+, L222-, YCAII=22-22, Cluster B.” Members of this cluster and anyone whose haplotype is at all similar are urged to order L1253! We’re especially looking forward to seeing L1253 results in lineages from the Middle East like M4287. See MolGen Forum L1253.
Also fascinating news: Kit M6882, from Iraq, which according to Thomas Krahn is L250.2+, L251.2+, but L1064-, has been found M68+! This SNP defines the extremely rare clade, J2a3c, which had previously been found in our project only in one lineage from Kerala, India. We can now predict M68 to be downstream of L250.2 & L251.2!
June 4, 2012, CR: New SNPs under J2a3* (L26+) discovered in members in Cluster H by Thomas Krahn by case: L250.2, L251.2, L1064 (MolGen Forum). Originally L25x Mutations where found in E-V13. Later a member outside of cluster H (M6882) turned out to be L250.2+, L251.2+, L1064-. To find out about the range of the proposed clade with L250, and the possible L1064 subclade the project needs to have people tested for possibly all the new SNPs in a broader range of J2a3*/ J2a4*.
June 1th: New Co-Admin Chris R. (J2a>L26>L250.2). Redesign (Logo, Maps/Images, Typo) and restructuring of Project Background, Goals, Results and News (Online June 13th, 1946 members at the update).
NEWS until 2011 by Bonnie Schrack (BES)
First installment of Z-SNPs — Z451, Z548, and Z644 are now available! 9/19/2011
Thomas Krahn of FTDNA’s Genomic Research Center has now made the first few of our new J SNPs available for ordering, which we had found in the 1000 Genomes Project data. The new SNPs are as follows:
Z644 — At long last! We may have found a SNP for J1 that will split L147+ in some meaningful way. This SNP was found in two of the four L147+ samples in the 1000 Genomes Project. The positive samples are from Puerto Rico and Colombia, while those negative are one from Tuscany, Italy, and one Caucasian from Utah (CEU population sample). All Hispanic members of J-L147 (J1c3d) should definitely consider testing Z644, as well as all others who are L147+ and negative for its known subclades such as L222.2. Let’s hope a significant number will be positive! There are four other SNPs equivalent to this one, which may be stronger, but Z644 happened to be covered by already existing primers. I hope to see the others also become available to test.
Z451 — Found in L227+ (J2a3b3) samples. Those who are already in J-L227 or close to that subclade may wish to test Z451, to help us find out whether it has the same distribution as L227, or a significantly wider or narrower range. We’ve already been hearing from Dr. Roy King of Stanford that L227 itself may have a wider distribution than was originally thought — most of its known members until recently have been Jewish, but other L227+ men are being found around the Mediterranean whose ancestry isn’t known to have been Jewish, though it’s possible that it once was. A couple of the soon to be available SNPs may hopefully be able to distinguish a smaller subgroup within L227.
Z548 — Found in all J2b, M102+ samples in the 1000 Genomes project. They are from Spain, Tuscany, Britain, and Utah. It’s always worth a try to see if some of our more outlying M102+ haplotypes could be negative for this SNP. Soon we will have much more interesting SNPs for J2b!
The SNPs that are still under development and soon to be made available are within J-L70, J-M67, J-L227, and J-L283 (all in J2). Here are some highlights:
The J2b SNPs, Z631, Z633, Z638, and Z639 should introduce a new subclade within M241/L283. Yet more interesting Z574 and Z575, which we hope to have available a bit later, will split the current J2b* into two groups, while others will be upstream of Z631-Z639, but downstream of L283.
The M67 SNPs Z498, Z502, Z508 and Z509 should create a new subclade of M67, outside of L227. All J2a3b in the 1000 Genomes project are from Tuscany. Three are L227+, and another three are L227-, but positive for the above new SNPs. New Co-Admin and re-organization of subgroups
One of the benefits of having very capable co-admins is that they can work to improve the very imperfect organization of subgroups in the project. Not only do we have Victar Mas working on J1, but also a brand new co-admin, Marco Antonio Ricci (kit E13058, J1c3d*, P58+, L147+, L222-). Marco and Victar are both studying cluster diagrams and proposing new subgrouping arrangements. Marco is also helping me analyze the newest SNPs to get them ready for development by Thomas Krahn.
8/13/2011:
Dr. Tim Janzen has just completed a restructuring of the L70+ subgroups, to highlight what he has found to be the most important marker dividing this clade: DYS462. We hope all members of L70 will have this marker tested to find out whether they are in the group with a value of 10, or the group with a deletion to 8. When the membership of these groups is clarified, we’ll be able to discover more about the ethnic, geographic and historical background of each group (particularly the smaller group with 8).
There are also a couple of SNPs, L396 and P244.2, which have been discovered in Jewish members of J-L70. Tim is contacting all those whom he recommends to have these markers tested.
WTY Discoveries in J2with important new SNP, L581
Thanks to WTY results from two project members, we have an important new insight into the structure of J2a. Until now, downstream of M410 (J2a) there has been only one major subclade, J-L26, which includes the large majority of members of J2a. The other SNPs, P279 and M340, define a very small subgroup of J2a. Then we have the J2a* paragroup, with a good number of very diverse clusters which have had no SNP of their own.
Now all that has changed. The WTY results of kit 177694 not only brought us two new SNPs, L581 and L582, but also showed that M340 is downstream of P279, rather than parallel to it. This has already caused a re-numbering of our subclade names — that is why the newest ISOGG versions of the J2a subclades use J2a3 instead of the J2a4 that’s still being used by FTDNA.
Now the more exciting news is that kit N40943’s recent WTY results show that he is also positive for L581. Why is this such a big deal? This project member’s cluster of J2a is distant from the one in which L581 was discovered. If it’s found in both of them, it’s very likely that it covers a large part of J2a*, possibly all of it! This would mean L581 will be a major subclade of M410, a real brother clade to L26/L27. We need members of all the J2a* clusters to test L581 a.s.a.p.! It’s already available for ordering!
Welcome new co-admin Victar Mas to the J project! 8/13/2011
Victar is going to be working primarily on J1, especially J1c3d. He’s very interested in SNP discovery, which he follows closely at DNA-forums. We’re thinking about how best to use his talents in the project. We’re looking into some targeted SNP testing research projects.
New J1 SNPs in the pipeline need your support
I was able to discover five new J1 SNPs in the data from the 1000 Genomes Project. You can read about this at DNA-forums in the 1 K Genomes section. These SNPs were positive in two J1c3 samples, from Puerto Rico and Colombia, but negative in two other J1c3 samples, from the CEU population (Utah) and Tuscany (Italy). The results of testing these SNPs should identify a potentially significant new subclade of J1c3. It may possibly be downstream from J1c3d, but certainly downstream from J1c3.
The names of these new J1 SNPs are Z640, Z641, Z642, Z643, and Z644. We need to lobby FTDNA to develop these SNPs (or at least one to start with!) so we can start testing them. Please use your creativity and connections to find ways to promote this project.
Upcoming New J2 SNPs
As mentioned in the last update, there are umpteen new J2 SNPs out there, the trick is just getting them to you. Probably the best approach will be for us to choose a small number from each group, and recommend those to Thomas Krahn for his attention. In the meantime, some of the SNPs within M67, downstream of L210, L218, and L227, are being studied by Dr. Roy King of Stanford, who is himself a member of the J2a3b3 subclade. In this data there’s also another, distinct subclade of J2a3b-M67, which looks like it could become J2a3b4. All of the members of J2a in this data are from Tuscany. There are members of J2b from four populations, and almost as many new SNPs in that clade. It awaits more in-depth analysis.
So much news! 6/9/2011
I hardly know where to begin. I know, I’ve been bad, not reporting to you…I’ve been posting here, there, and everywhere but on this page.
J2 warning: your clade name is about to change!
Because of new discoveries made through Walk Through the Y testing of kit 177694, sponsored by the very active Armenia project, we now know that the long sought-after SNP M340 is actually not a brother clade to P279, but downstream from it. For years we have hoped to find the elusive M340 in some project member, but he is the first one to be found positive for it. He was already known to be P279+. I didn’t expect a WTY on a P279+ person to be so revealing! Since M340 had been J2a2, and it now has to be moved downstream of P279, it will become J2a2a, and P279 will become J2a2. This frees up J2a3, so the former J2a4 becomes J2a3. . . and all of you who belong to J2a4b, J2a4h, etc., will soon be members of J2a3b, J2a3h, etc., instead!
The 1000 Genomes Project
This project is making the complete genome sequences of people from many countries freely available for study. You can read about it here: http://www.1000genomes.org/
If only more of the people sampled belonged to haplogroup J! But even the modest number from J are yielding exciting results.
The Y chromosome data is being searched for new SNPs by an informal gathering of people who are organizing and communicating through DNA-forums, here: http://dna-forums.org/index.php?/forum/143-1k-genomes/ (You do have to register and log in to participate.) The community is giving the SNPs names beginning with the letter Z.
Just in the last couple of days, I’ve been analyzing the data of ten members of J2a3 and five members of J1, while Vince Tilroe analyzed the data of seven members of J2b. Vince will have to be the one to tell what he found – I believe he may have found a new subclade downstream of L283.
True to form, in J2a3 there are a plethora of new SNPs, and just a few in J1. The five J1 SNPs were found in a Colombian and a Puerto Rican. They may turn out to be equivalent to L147, but if not, they could define a subclade where a number of our Hispanic J1c3d members could find a home. Let’s hope Thomas Krahn will be kind enough to make these available for testing as soon as he can, and we’ll find out.
Trouble is, Thomas is being swamped by hundreds of Z-SNPs that are pouring out of this project, in addition to WTY, so it’s hard to know how soon he’ll be able to make the new J SNPs available. Stay tuned.
Having checked the J2a3 data in depth, I’ve found that what I hoped might be a new clade in J2a3, is just J2a4h, but it’s really interesting that there are over 60 SNPs equivalent to L24/L25 in this data! The other seven samples are within J2a3b–M67. Among those, there seem to be two subclades of three members each, with a smaller subclade of two members within one of them. Each of these groups is defined by large numbers of SNPs, in the over 2700 lines of SNP data for each sample. The total of new J2a3 SNPs is 133, so far, and that isn’t counting the far greater number that are equivalent to L26, L27, M67, or other higher SNPs in the J2 tree.
The SNP chart is here! 4/12/2011
Check out our new SNP chart. You can see listed here all the SNPs that have been tested by each of our project members. I waited to enable this until the IT dept. got it fixed so that your name is not shown, the way we have it on the Y-DNA results charts. Having this SNP information is extremely valuable! Look at how many of you have only ordered one, or no SNPs! You can do better than that! ;–)
There are also lots more SNPs available for ordering across the board, as of today. Please bear with us and soon we’ll provide more information on which ones are J-related, and who should order them. In the meantime, you can find them under Advanced Orders.
More new J SNPs on the way 3/14/2011
Two new SNPs have recently emerged from testing done by labs outside of FTDNA, one in J1 and another in J2.
A new paper by Dr. Roy King and colleagues brings a new J1 SNP at the position 15,929,328 on the Y chromosome. They have named it M497. Thomas Krahn will be ordering the primers to start trying out this SNP. King et al didn’t find anyone who was positive for M267 and not for M497, so those two SNPs could be equivalent, but there were only 35 members of J1 tested in this study, so there could certainly be other J1 people in the world who are M267+ and M497-, or even conceivably, who are M497+ and M267-. We’ll try to learn more from Dr. King about this SNP.
Meanwhile, testing from the Illumina chip has revealed that the rs3958589 SNP is positive in those who are L26+ and L27+. Unfortunately we don’t know of members of J2a* (M410+, L26- and L27-) who have been tested for this SNP, so it’s still possible that it could be equivalent to M410. However, it’s also perfectly possible that it could have a somewhat different position on the tree from any of these SNPs, and so could give us new information. Thomas Krahn has named this SNP L505, and will be designing primers to begin testing it.
New SNP for members of J-L70 (J2a4h2a1a)3/9/2011
New results show that two L70+ project members are negative for the new WTY SNP L398, which has been positive in all other L70+ members tested so far. Why is this big news?
A member of the Jewish cluster in L70 had participated in Walk Through the Y, and three SNPs were found: L396, L397, and L398. L396 has only been found in a few members of that cluster. But L397 and L398 had appeared to be positive in every L70+ tested, regardless of whether they belonged to that cluster or not. Until now. We’re still waiting for results of L397 for these two project members, but the new negative L398 results for L70+ project members (who are outside of the Jewish cluster) already tell us that we now have the ability to split the L70+ clade into several subclades of substantial size. We’ve come a long way in the last few years!
Now it will be important for many members of the L70+ group to test L397 and L398, to find out their distribution. Especially if your haplotype has a lot of genetic distance from others. We really want to see who will belong to the L398+ and L398- groups, whether most project members in L70 will be L398+, and most interestingly, whether there is an ethnic or geographical pattern to this. We already know that the Jewish group came out of the L398+ group. Getting many test results will give us the best chance of making an accurate estimate of how long it has been since L398 began, and comparing that to the time estimate for L396, helping us to understand the history of the lineages that belong to these groups.
New Haplogroup Definitions at Last! 3/4/2011
We’re happy to report that FTDNA has updated its haplogroup definitions to reflect many of the new SNPs discovered over the last year or more. Please bear with me as I work to update the names of the many clusters in our project.
You can see a diagram of the new Y-DNA haplotree on your personal page, by going to “Haplotree” under Y-DNA, then “My Haplotree.” This new tree is a big improvement in accuracy, though of course there will always be new SNPs that aren’t yet ready to place on the tree.
If you wonder whether you might belong to some of those new branches you see sprouting on the tree, there’s a new feature to allow you to find out, much more easily than in the past! Simply consult the Haplotree diagram to see which SNPs define that branch, then go to the new “Choose your own SNP” link on the Haplotree page. By testing one of the SNPs that defines a branch, you can find out whether or not you belong to it, at a very reasonable cost. How to View the New Results Charts
In both the Classic and Colorized versions, only a certain number of lines (members) will display at any one time. You can fill in the number of lines you want to see at once. The rest will be on separate pages. The IT dept. has now kindly placed the links to the page numbers at the top of the chart, just below where it says “Markers,” to let you choose how many markers to display. We appreciate their responsiveness to our requests! It should now read:Page: 1 2 3 of 3
More successful WTY results! The investments our project members have made in more rounds of WTY testing are certainly paying off. We now have SNPs that may possibly give a formal definition to two long-standing clusters, in J1 and J2.
In J1, for years there’s been a nice little cluster which is very distinct from the main J1e group, and we’ve found that they branch off much closer to the root of J1 — they’re negative for the L136 SNP as well as P58. Now, the results for kit 82586’s WTY have come back and they show he has two new SNPs: L255 and L256. It turns out that L255 is probably equivalent to M267 (J1). But L256 is probably found only in this cluster. L256 IS NOW AVAILABLE for ordering! Anyone who’s J1* and whose haplotype has any resemblance to J1* Cluster C ought to think about having these tested. Many of this cluster’s members are Hispanic and Jewish, though the member tested has German origins. Let’s hope L256 is found in the whole group!
In J2, our enthusiastic young project member Jackson Montgomery-Devoni saved his pennies, and put them to work to further the research on his cluster, which he’s so passionately interested in. A new SNP has been found in his Y-DNA, L267. As his group, J2a4* Cluster C, grows, we’ve seen a number of Armenian members showing up in additions to the Italians and others. Jackson’s research indicates that his cluster’s origins could lie in Western Armenia (now in Turkey). L267 is NOW AVAILABLE for ordering! I’ve reviewed the data from the classic 2003 paper by Cinnioglu on the Y-DNA of Anatolia, finding that it contains 10 samples matching this cluster’s distinctive modal haplotype, and indeed, their distribution is concentrated in that very region of Eastern Turkey where Armenians made up a substantial part of the population (before the genocide). One of them, sample #286, is also positive for the rare M339 SNP. We hope it may be possible to test an M339+ sample for the new L267 SNP; we could find that M339 is downstream of this new WTY SNP!
Previous SNPs found:
L198 – together with L88.2, found in a J2a4* cluster; other J2a4* can test
L222.2 – for J1e, found in an L147+ in Arab cluster; other L147+ or P58+ can test
L212 – found in J2a4b and J2a4h; other J2 clades can test
L228 – found in J2a4b and J2a4h; other J2 clades can test
L210 – found in J2a4b Jewish Cluster A and not in some other J2a4b; other J2a4b can test
L218 – found in J2a4b Jewish Cluster A and not in some other J2a4b; other J2a4b can test
L227 – found in J2a4b Jewish Cluster A and not in some other J2a4b; other J2a4b can test
L207.1 – for J2a4h, found in two L25+ and one L70+
L229 – for J2a4h, found positive in one L25+, negative in another L25+
L230 – for J2a4h, found positive in one L25+, negative in another L25+
L231 – for J2a4h, found positive in one L25+, negative in another L25+.
Kudos to Thomas for some incredibly fast work to get these SNPs ready and put them on the Advanced Orders page! You can order them individually for $29 each, or in groups:
J-M304 including 4 SNPs for $89 – 2 are brand new, 2 a little older
J-P58 including 4 SNPs for $79 – 1 is brand new, the other 3 recent
J-L26 including 5 SNPs for $99 – 3 are brand new, the other 2 recent
J-L24 including 6 SNPs for $99 – 4 are brand new, the other 2 recent
Fantastic! We can learn a lot from these, let’s get the orders going! The following gives a bit more information and context on these SNPs.
Outpouring of new J SNPs! Many new J SNPs are being discovered, the majority through FTDNA’s Walk Through the Y project. We’ll be updating you as more information becomes available on them.
David Dugas has very helpfully provided the following list (slightly edited here) of the new J2 SNPs at his blog, Haplogroup J2, which I highly recommend.
In this list, the long number is the position on the Y chromosome, the letter before it is the ancestral allele, and the letter after it is the derived (mutated) allele. The locations of these SNPs can be seen in Thomas Krahn’s Y Chromosome Browser: Ymap Browser
* L207.1: A6813448G, found in J-L70 and J-L25 participants. May be synonymous with L24 or L25.
* L210: A15001591T, found in a J-M67 participant.
* L212: T21120853C, found in J-M67 and J-L25 participants.
* L218: deletion at 20199329, found in J-M67 participant.
* L227: C6919963T, found in J-M67 participant.
* L228: C7831358T, found in J-M67 and J-L25 participants.
* L229: C6813447T, found in one J-L25 participant, ancestral in another.
* L230: G20327921A, found in one J-L25 participant, ancestral in another.
* L231: C13524835G, found in one J-L25 participant, ancestral in J-M67.
Thomas has also created a new version of the Y phylogenetic tree, which he is updating as he discovers new SNPs. This allows us to learn what he’s finding in the Genomic Research Center lab quickly and directly. You can see it here: YTree. Be sure to select “Draft” from the drop-down menu at the top, to see the latest updates. Thomas explains how it works in this posting to the Genealogy-DNA list.
L212 and L228 deserve special mention. We know they are derived in members of J2a4b and J2a4h, but we don’t know whether all the subclades of J2a4 will be positive for them, and we don’t know whether all members of J2a4* will be or whether some will be negative. Thus, it’s vital that members of all subclades and clusters of J2a4 order these SNPs as soon as they become available. There are also some exciting new SNPs being discovered in J1. There are two within J1e which have been found through test results from another company, as compiled in a comparative spreadsheet by Adriano Squecco. They’ve now been given names by Thomas Krahn as well, who has developed them so that you’ll be able to order them through FTDNA.
L222 is a SNP that’s been found positive (derived) in several Arabians tested so far, who are L147+, while L222 is negative (ancestral) in some other L147+ Arabs. Then, among those who are L222+, some are also positive for L65, a SNP which had previously only been found in haplogroup I2b2. This SNP has already been available for ordering under Advanced Order SNPs. Anyone who is J1e and L147+, or YCAII=22-22, may wish to order L222.2, in order to help establish how widespread or limited it is in distribution. Then, if you turn out to be L222+, you’ll certainly want to test L65. Our Arabian project members have been striving to find more SNPs that will provide higher-resolution detail on their population’s genetic structure, and this is really starting to bear fruit. There are two traditional divisions among the Arab tribes, the Adnani and Qahtani. There’s anticipation that L222 could be specific to the Adnanites — we’ll see!
Why this project is different * You will be able to see your haplotype compared to people of all surnames and ethnic groups, and from countries all over the world. This may allow you to gain insight into your family’s early origins. * You’ll be assigned to a subgroup based strictly on cluster analysis of marker values, and your SNP results. Ethnic labels on some subgroups are “after the fact” descriptions, not criteria for inclusion. * You’ll hear about all the latest SNPs that are discovered, developed and that become available for ordering for members of the J haplogroup, with guidance on who will benefit by testing them. * You will see your subgroup status updated according to the latest data analysis and SNP information available. * How you can help: if you see members of Haplogroup J show up in your surname, ethnic, or geographical project, or in Ysearch search results, etc., who are not members of the J Haplogroup Project, please ask them to join! Especially if their haplotypes look unusual or different from others you’ve seen. Local Folk Would you like to be in touch with other members of the J haplogroup who live in your area? Why not start a local group to share interesting things you’re learning? For my part I would like to hear from you if you live in the greater Washington DC, Maryland or Northern Virginia area and would like to get together with other genetic genealogists here. Project admins can’t search for project members by location, so I need you to tell me if you’re interested.
Previous crop of new J SNPs Some great new SNPs we’ve been waiting for are now available for ordering on your Advanced Orders page. For J1, these include L136 and L87. L136 is very important for those J1 who are not J1e, that is, if your cluster is not P58+. Some parts of J1 are L136-, but we don’t yet know about all of the clusters. L136 is a big help to clarify the deep structure of J1. L87 has been found in one person so far, but if others will test it, we may find more. This again is for those who are P58-. For J1e, we continue to have L147, L92 and L93 available. L92 and L93 are equivalent so far, and rare, and are found outside of L147+. Only J1e members who are negative for L147 should consider ordering them. For J2, I’m personally excited to say that two SNPs discovered in my father, L88.2 and L198, are now available. These are for people who are not positive for any of the J2a4 subclades, that is, you should be J2a4*. I’m eager for members of all J2a4* clusters to test them! More about these SNPs later. . .
New diagram, this time for J2a4* Members of J2a4* and interested friends, have a look at the SplitsTree diagram on the Results page. As in the J1 tree, 52 markers were used. This diagram is limited to the J2a4* group in J2, which has long been considered to harbor undiscovered subclades. This diagram is one of my efforts to distinguish structure within it and learn which families are more closely related to one another. As Walk Through the Y research continues, we hope some of the branches shown will become associated with SNPs. The new “rough clusters” on the Y-DNA Results table are based on the branches shown in this diagram.
New J1 SplitsTree diagram! The SplitsTree program (SplitsTree.org; Wikipedia/SplitsTree) has been used to create a new J1 tree, seen under our “Results” page. This is an improvement compared to those we’ve had in the past, although it isn’t perfect, some clusters of J1* and J1e being shown in incorrect relation to the root. Nevertheless, it’s helpful in visualizing the relationships within and between the many J1 clusters, which have been labeled according to current knowledge, and four WTY participants are shown. Please send info on any further WTY participants on the diagram so they can be labeled. J2 Participation in Walk Through the Y Research Project STILL Needed!Now it’s time for members of J2 to step up to the plate, since J1’s participants have been doing so much already. The Walk Through the Y Project being carried out by Thomas Krahn at FTDNA’s Genomic Research Center has been very popular and successful, uncovering many new SNPs that are expanding our knowledge of the phylogenetic tree, including the new L147 in J1.
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Update: Several members of J2a4h (L24+, 25+) have enrolled in WTY, and one from J2a4* Cluster C! More volunteers are needed for many other groups, as well as donations to help the financially challenged.
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New SNPs are definitely needed for J2. We have many clusters within J2a4* and J2a*, in particular, that need their own SNPs to define them as official sub-clades. If you are a member of one of these groups, or would like to find more SNPs for your sub-clade, please consider participating. We also need contributors who can help to fund these tests. The cost of sequencing a large region of the Y chromosome is high. Not all of the participants who are needed to represent their clusters will be able to cover the entire $750 cost for their test. We need to band together to make it possible for us to be a part of this cutting-edge research. Many WTY tests have been funded by group contributions in other haplogroups. You can make your donation to the J Project’s General Fund, and specify its use for WTY — even for WTY participants from your specific cluster. Please contact project admin Bonnie Schrack if you are interested in participating. Important new L147 SNP discovered within J1e! The Walk Through the Y Project is having all the success that was hoped for, among those who have stepped forward to participate! The great news is that a SNP has been discovered, L147, which looks like it will split J1e in a useful and interesting way. From early data, I had guessed that J1e haplotypes with 19 at YCAIIa would be negative for L147, but we now have results showing that some of these, too, are L147+, assuming the results for this new SNP are now consistent (occasionally the results for new SNPs can vary until there has been time for more experience in typing it to accumulate). So far, those with values of 20 or more at YCAIIa have been positive. It seems very likely that all who have 22-22 will be positive, as results so far indicate. But more results are needed to find out what the exact division will be. It’s important for at least one representative of each J1e cluster to order L147, which is found under Advanced Order SNPs. Thanks to all of you who have already ordered! Right now we especially need it to be ordered by those who have less than 22 at YCAIIa. Welcome new co-admin Tim Janzen! Thank goodness a co-admin has been found who will be able to bear some of the burden of managing this huge project. Tim has become a real expert in his subclade, J2a4h1a, L70+, and I’m very happy that he is willing to help out with that very active area of our project. No doubt he will be contributing some excellent material to this website as well. Advanced Order SNPs now available A number of new J SNPs can now be found on the Advanced Orders page. Here are all the J SNPs on that page, and their prices. There’s no need to order the sets of two or three SNPs if only one of them is important to you: J-M267 $49.00 [includes the following two SNPs:] * L134 $29.00 Phylogeny: Found in a hg J WTY participant. Most likely synonymous with hg J (M304, P209) * L147 $29.00 Phylogeny: Derived in J-P58 and O? (ancestral in E, G, H, I, J-M67, J1* and R) J-M304 $29.00 * L60 $29.00 Phylogeny: May be synonymous with M304. Upstream of M267 and M172. Not found in members of I. J-P58 $69.00 [includes the following three SNPs:] * L147 $29.00 Phylogeny: Derived in J-P58 and O? (ancestral in E, G, H, I, J-M67, J1* and R) * L92 $29.00 Phylogeny: Found within J-P58. Brother clade to M367, M368. Syonymous with L93 * L93 $29.00 Phylogeny: Found within J-P58. Brother clade to M367, M368. Syonymous with L93 J-L24 $49.00 * L70 $29.00 Phylogeny: Found within J-L25. * L84 $29.00 Phylogeny: Found within J-L24. Brother clade to J-L25 L70 is a most important J2 SNP. This is the SNP we’ve waited years for — from the time when we first recognized the distinctive group of haplotypes that we then called “J2x.” Once the deletion at DYS445 to 6 was found, we gave it the clade name, J2a1k. Research has shown it to be especially common in southeastern Anatolia and in southern Italy, among other places. It’s also found to some degree in Greece, but mainly in Crete and the southern part of the mainland. After many more permutations of discovery and amendment of the SNP tree, culminating with the discovery of L70 in the 23andMe results of one of our project members, and Thomas Krahn’s development of this SNP for customer ordering, we have finally come to the day when FTDNA is able to offer you this SNP. According to our data so far, L70+ is found only in persons who are L24+ and L25+. At the same time, it’s correlated not only with having DYS445=6, but also, with having DYS462=8 or 10, and with a few exceptions, DYS391=9. DYS462 and DYS445 may be ordered from FTDNA as Advanced Orders. Tim has also found that L70+ people have extra, partial alleles at DYS464, giving results such as 15.1, 14.1, or 16.1, but these are not reported by FTDNA on the project results table. The partial allele has been seen in results from SMGF.org, who do report them in all cases when they are found. If they are interested, FTDNA customers may either write to the company and inquire about their original tests of DYS464, to see if these partial alleles can be seen on the electropherogram of the results, or they may order the Advanced DYS464X test from Thomas Krahn’s Genomic Research Lab in Houston. L84 is an interesting SNP which has been found in one project member so far, kit 123476, who is L24+, but L25- (negative). This tells us that L24 and L25 are distinct branches on the phylogenetic tree. We’ll be able to add L84 to the tree if we find any substantial number of people, who aren’t very closely related to kit 123476, who are also L84+. So anyone who is not L25+, or L70+, has not already been found L24-, and is not positive for one of the other subclade SNPs such as M67, M319, etc., and has a J2a haplotype, is welcome to try and see if they could be L84+. L60 is a SNP that I happened to notice a couple of years ago in some data from a study that had tested a few random HapMap Y-SNPs in Amish populations that I’m descended from. Gareth Henson’s work with the data made it possible for me to see that it was a J SNP. Further testing, and results from 23andMe, have shown that in all J samples, it is either positive or has failed to give results. I believe it’s a SNP shared by all members of the J haplogroup, so its testing isn’t a high priority. Previous update:FTDNA Updates its Phylogenetic Tree & Subclade Names You’ll see that many members of J2a now have new subclade names assigned to them! These represent a major advance that takes into account the new SNPs, L24, L25, L26, and L27. This is the latest update of FTDNA’s phylotree, but not the last. There was necessarily a cut-off date about 10 days before this tree was rolled out, and some major developments in our haplogroup unfortunately reached the point of being proven valid in the eyes of FTDNA a few days too late for the deadline. So, you’ll see that in our project results table, I’m using the FTDNA clade names to start out with, but with a few additions. I hope to post some tree diagrams here soon, but FTDNA’s current tree, also recognized by the YCC, is available here: Y Chromosome Phylogenetic Tree Thomas Krahn’s more up-to-date version can be seen here: Working Draft of the Y Chromosome Tree Below J-M304 This shows the latest version that FTDNA recognizes as proven, but it will be several more months before the official YCC tree and their computer system are updated to reflect all the new information. Only those members of the project who have actually been tested for L24 and/or L25 will see the new clade name, J2a4h, next to their name. The rest of you remain in your existing sections of the results table, which indicate the SNPs I believe you will be positive for. Of course, you are encouraged to order these SNPs to confirm the assignment. Though FTDNA’s current tree shows L24 and L25 on the same branch, we have now discovered that L25 is downstream of L24. J2a4h means L24+; a person who’s additionally L25+ will be J2a4h1, but this extension of the tree does not yet show up in the clade names of FTDNA’s current version. If you are L25+ you will, for now, be shown by FTDNA as J2a4h. The further SNP, L70, will very soon be available for ordering. This clade is believed to include only the group (recently called “Cluster A”) who typically have both DYS445=6 and DYS391=9. L70 is downstream from both L24 and L25. L25, downstream from L24, now has a small (possibly private) brother clade, L84, also downstream from L24. There are several SNPs whose exact placement is not yet known. I believe M158 to be downstream from L24; we don’t yet know if it is also downstream from L25. The SNPs M137 and M318 are known by tests at FTDNA to be downstream from L70; I believe M289 to be a brother clade to them, from indirect evidence provided to us by Stanford. It will only be possible to know M289’s placement for sure if the folks at Stanford are able to provide a positive control sample for M289, or else test their sample for L70 themselves. All samples so far that have DYS445=10 are positive for at least L24, and usually also L25. All samples that have DYS445=6 have been positive for both L24 and L25, and therefore will be within J2a4h1. The group who have DYS445=6 and DYS391=10 appear, beyond that, to be negative for L70 and other downstream SNPs. Thus, for now they will have the J2a4h1* clade name, with the additional qualifier of DYS445=6. There is obviously much more to explain, but this will have to do for a preliminary news bulletin! Things will continue to evolve. I would advise everyone to get used to your clade names changing, because this isn’t going to stop, but will probably accelerate. The best solution is probably for us to refer to clades by the name of their SNPs, rather than by names like “J2a4h1.” ________________________________________________ News from last time We’ve been so fortunate now that FTDNA’s lab in Houston is now running at full speed. We found the first P279+ project member, N58704, and right afterward, the first P81+, 130992. What’s cool is that we’ve now discovered that P279+, unlike all the other J2a clades that project members belong to, has DYS413 values of 20+. It doesn’t have that deletion at 413 that we now know corresponds to L26 and L27. This person is going to be tested for those SNPs soon. Their subclade will be put onto a different level of the tree, upstream of L26 and L27, while all the other J2a subclades are downstream of them. There are four other families who I’ve had clustered with the family of N58704, who may or may not belong to this same clade. It’s very important that they order Deep Clade SNP tests, or upgrade any they’ve already had done with the Extended version which includes P279. The time has come! Finally, at long last! The new SNPs are here! Yes, the ones that we helped to discover, that are going to finally make J2a*, J2a1* and J2a1k (by whatever name) “official”! Note that the price is not going to ruin anyone’s finances: only $29 a SNP. We can all rejoice, but not everyone needs to order these SNPs, of course. Only those who are in the ambiguous territory of uncertain clade, between J2a* and J2a1*, or between J2a1* and J2a1k*, for example, really should test them. Others can test them if they like just to be able to get that stamp of authenticity, even if there wasn’t any real doubt about their clade. So who’s the highest in priority to order them? Your category will already be labeled on the Results Table to let you know. Are you in one of these groups? “J2a* candidates, need L26 & L27 tests”“J2a1k or J2a1k1 candidates, need L24 & L25 tests” These are the people most likely to benefit. But certainly not the only ones. You all in the category “J2 – Need to order more markers to be classified” would do well to order these – each case is individual, but if you order all four SNPs, it wouldn’t hurt. Of course, I’d really like to see you all order at least 37 markers! As far as the category, “J2a – subclade unknown, need Deep Clade SNP test”, it won’t be necessary for those of you who’ve already tested 67 markers, but for the rest, it certainly wouldn’t hurt. You ought to order the Deep Clade tests too, though! They won’t set you back that much. More later! Thanks for your participation! Previous news entry – lots of info Now there will be changes in the subgroups themselves. In J2, we are delighted to have found a number of new SNPs — four so far — that have resolved some troublesome places in the phylogenetic tree. They weren’t troublesome to us, but to the folks in Arizona who put together the YCC tree, which FTDNA uses for their official subclade names, only SNP mutations were acceptable to define a clade. That is why there has been the difference in your clade names — J2a for FTDNA, J2a1 for us at ISOGG; J2a2 for FTDNA, J2a1b for us, etc. The most glaring problem was the omission of the large clade that has been defined by the deletion at DYS445, which we’ve called J2a1h for the last year (originally J2a1k), and its close relation, “pre-J2a1h.” Well, all this is about to change. By analyzing data from 23andMe test results, with the invaluable assistance of Adriano Squecco’s spreadsheets, we’ve been able to identify some SNPs that Thomas Krahn, head of FTDNA’s Genomics Research Center, has named L24, L25, L26, and L27. These will be changing the J2 landscape considerably. Thomas’ tests on a representative group of subjects have determined that so far, everyone tested who is a member of either J2a1h or pre-J2a1h, are positive for the L24 (rs35248080)and L25 (rs34534058) SNPs, while all others tested are negative for them. Thus, a new clade on the phylogenetic tree will be defined by these two SNPs. The L26 (rs34459399) and L27 (rs34126399) SNPs have already been tested by other labs, and are undergoing confirmation at the GRC. L26 was discovered earlier by Ethnoancestry, who named it S57, but its technical details (rs number, etc.) were not made public at that time. EA has now confirmed that S57 is rs34459399. A number of our project members were pioneers in being tested for this SNP, and their results demonstrated that it occupied the same place in the tree as the deletion at DYS413, which for years has defined J2a1. All members of J2a*, who were positive for M410 but did not have a deletion in their DYS413 marker, have tested negative for S57 (L26), while members of J2a1 and its subclades, who do have that deletion, were all positive for S57(L26). L27 has been tested at Stanford by the Underhill lab, as described by Dr. Roy King in his blog posting and discussions on 23andMe’s Spittoon blog, The Origin of Farming in Europe: A View from the Y Chromosome, where he states, in reply to my query, “You are indeed correct – according to tests we conducted in Dr. Peter Underhill’s laboratory at Stanford University, rs34126399G is equivalent to the DYS413 deletion that defines J2a1. Thus the map reflects both the distribution of the DYS413 deletion and rs34126399G. As I wrote in the blog, rs34126399G captures the circum-Mediterranean migration of the first farmers in Europe and the Near East.” The next step was to incorporate the new SNPs into the ISOGG tree. This has been done, and you can see the result here: Y-DNA Haplogroup J and its Subclades – 2009 We decided to retire the name J2a1h, which could be confusing since it has been used in some scientific papers to refer to M319+, and instead, we will be going back to the name we originally used, J2a1k. The membership of the new clade, though, will be expanded from that clade’s original definition. We had used the criteria of DYS445=6 to define it, and only later discovered the broader group of related haplotypes which have DYS445=10. Now, this broader group will take the name J2a1k, while the more narrowly defined group, which shares a more recent common ancestor, will be known as J2a1k1. The members of our project have a very special opportunity to be on the cutting edge of scientific discovery. Please consider ordering: * L24 and L25 if you are a member of J2a1* or especially, the new J2a1k or J2a1k1 * L26 and L27 (L26 only if you haven’t yet tested S57) if you’re a member of J2a* or J2a1* ReminderI URGE every member of our project to PLEASE enter the name of your earliest known paternal ancestor, or at least your surname, in the box on your “User Preferences” page! There are so many empty spaces on our Y Results table. I may be able to see who you are, but please give a thought to your fellow J haplogroup and sub-clade members! They really want to know something about your family and its origins. _________________________________________________________ Please note that we have a General Fund for contributions to the project. Donations will be gratefully accepted, and will go to enable upgrades to the tests of members who do not have the financial means to pay for them. These members, for example, may live in countries where the exchange rate with the dollar and the pay scale do not permit them to spend the amount on DNA testing that others fortunately can afford. Since this fund is just getting established, funds will be very limited, and will be applied to cases that can make the greatest contribution to answering crucial research questions. ______________________________________________ PUT YOURSELF ON THE MAP! We would like to encourage everyone to put yourself on the map, which appears under “Y Results,” below the haplotype chart. In order to do this, you’ll need to: 1. Go to the “Setup Preferences” tab in your personal page. 2. At the bottom of that Setup page, there are places to enter the name of your earliest paternal ancestor, AND the latitude and longitude of his place of origin. 3. This latitude & longitude may be found in several places. One of them can be found by following the link provided by FTDNA, right there. You may need to use the Internet Explorer browser and re-enter the name of the city and country, when you get to the external mapping website. This should provide the latitude and longitude. 4. You’ll need to copy the decimal version (for example, latitude 47.083 and longitude 7.696) instead of the old form that gives degrees and minutes. 5. Paste the decimal numbers into the latitude and longitude boxes on your Setup page. 6. Be careful! A mix-up between latitude and longitude, or an omission of a needed negative sign (-), could result in your dot appearing in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, the Sahara Desert, etc. 7. Now you can go back to our J haplogroup project Y Results page, and you should be able to see your dot appear on the map! Click on the “+” sign to zoom in on the map, and “-” to zoom out. You can also switch to a lovely satellite photo for the background, using the button on the upper right-hand side. Enjoy!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Rare SNP found in project member Project member 110692 has received Deep Clade SNP test results showing that he is positive for the M68 SNP. This is the first time it’s been found (to my knowledge) in genetic genealogy. All the previous known cases were in published scientific papers, from Underhill (2000) and Semino (2002): one person from Tajikistan, two Iraqis, and one Hindu. Our project member is from India, a member of the Syrian Nasrani Christians of Kerala. Their traditions point to Middle Eastern, Jewish origins. We hope to learn more about the distribution and implications of M68+ as more people take the Deep Clade SNP tests. Older news — when the new SNPs were first appearing New SNPs recently added to the chip used by 23andMe in their test show evidence that they could correspond with the two major branchings in the J2 tree that have been lacking a SNP to define them. Dr. Roy King of Stanford confirmed on the Spittoon blog, in answer to my queries,that the rs34126399 SNP corresponds, according to their findings at Stanford, to the DYS413 deletion that has, until now, defined J2a1. Now, we have learned that a member of pre-J2a1h is positive for another SNP, rs35248080, which was found to be negative in the sample of Dr. King, who belongs to J2a1b (cluster A). This would indicate that rs35248080 could define the whole large branch of J2 that includes J2a1h and pre-J2a1h. Now, what we need are more test results! I hope J2a1*, pre-J2a1h, and J2a1h project members will step forward to have the 23andMe test done (after careful consideration of its merits and possible risks), which will greatly expand our knowledge!
Update — Sept. 2008 This news page hasn’t been used in a while, but there have been developments all along. Our project has grown to over 580 members. The introduction of many new SNPs by FTDNA has allowed us to see a lot of new structure in the haplogroup. Recently, tests of M319 in J2 have revealed that the clade it defines, J2a1e or J2a8, is much more substantial than had been supposed by most of us. This was thought to be a rare group, but in a short time, the modest number of people who have been tested have resulted in seven members who are positive for it, plus two close matches. A number were not originally project members, but have joined after their results arrived. The amazing thing about this cluster is how diverse its marker values are. The various members’ haplotypes do not show a recent common origin, but are so varied as to suggest quite an old age for this clade. There are certainly common elements, but also some wide divergence. The most distinctive trait of these M319+ haplotypes is their 16 at DYS413a. We hope that everyone in J2 who has that marker value will order the newly extended Deep Clade SNP tests to confirm their membership in this exciting new group! Meanwhile research continues on the groups defined by the markers DYS445 and 450. Al Aburto and David Dugas, project members who belong to pre-J2a1h, have worked ceaselessly to explore its characteristics and distribution. They have recruited many new members to the project, and subsidized their testing. These test results, especially when the new members pitch in by upgrading to 37 or 67 markers, allow us to gain a much better picture of the cluster’s modal values, which in turn makes it possible to predict more accurately which haplotypes are the best candidates for membership in it.
July 6th, 2007
We have reached a milestone of 300 members! Thanks to all who have joined!
May – June Research update:
Many people have been joining the project recently! We welcome this development! 🙂 If you have recently joined, and have not been in touch with the project administrator to discuss your objectives and interests, please do get in touch! We can’t always guess what you have in mind. There’s a research project going on that a lot of our new members are involved in, and we can use more help with it, both from old and new members of the J project. New clusters and subclades are being discovered and defined, and we’re trying to sort out how they are related to eachother. The J2a1k clade was discovered some time ago by project Admin. Bonnie Schrack and advisor Whit Athey, defined by the deletion at DYS445 that results in a value of 6 at that marker. DYS445 is not included among the 67 markers normally tested. It must be ordered separately as an advanced test. This costs $6.20 plus a one-time DNA transfer fee of $9.50 to have your sample sent to the new Houston lab. In addition to the 6 at 445, we have now found that the DYS450 marker, found in the 67-marker test panel, also has a distinct value in J2a1k: 9. The rest of the J haplogroup normally has a value of 8. But we have also found that another group of people have the same 9 at DYS450. They are closely related to the “J2a1k with 391=10” cluster, but this newly recognized cluster has 10 at DYS445, rather than 6. Borrowing a concept from the mtDNA phylogenetic tree, we are calling this cluster “Pre-J2a1k.” A good hypothesis is that it represents an intermediate step in the divergence of the J2a1k clade from the main body of J2a1. Most J2a1 have a value of 12 at DYS445. We’re seeking more project members whose haplotype suggests they might be members of either J2a1k with DYS391=10, or Pre-J2a1k, who would be willing to test DYS445. This would help us understand the relationship of these clusters, their history, and Y-chromosome structure. Those who are in the process of this testing will be listed under the category, “J2a1k/Pre-k testing.” A considerable group of the members of the Pre-J2a1k cluster are Jewish Cohanim, but the cluster has members of other backgrounds as well, which we are eager to learn more about. Anyone who is willing to help with this research, if your haplotype seems to belong in this group, please write and tell us about your geographical and ethnic background. Members from the Middle East are particularly welcome, as this is the the original homeland of the J haplogroup. Finding a particular Y haplotype represented in a Middle Eastern country can give us significant information about the origins, distribution, and history of the clade it belongs to. There is enormous controversy regarding the distribution of the Jewish Cohanim (hereditary priestly caste) among the clades of the J haplogroup, and their origins. A number of interested people have come together to work on clarifying this question. We’ll be attempting to make a real contribution, solidly based on evidence rather than any preconceived ideasa, though we don’t have the advantage of research grants to enable testing of a large, random sample of Cohanim. It would be a real contribution if every project member who has a family tradition of being Cohanim would write to the project administrator at the email given, to allow this data to be compiled and analyzed. This information will not be displayed on the website, but if the haplotype matches either the known J1 cluster or the new one in J2, it will be placed in that cluster as appropriate. Other news includes: * A second member of the extremely rare J1b subclade has been found, and we would very much like to find more! If anyone can be found whose haplotype matches one of these, we would certainly like to have them in the project! *More members are confirmed to belong to the rare J2a* group, which has values higher than 19 at DYS413, but is not in J2b. This is a fascinating group! There is a good deal of diversity in it. Anyone whose SNP test shows they are M172+, M12-, and have values higher than 19 at DYS413, is very likely to be a member. We would like to hear from you. *A third member of the rare J2b1b (J2e2) clade has joined the project. More are always welcome.
October 24
Accumulating data show that known and suspected members of the J2a1k clade, which is being studied by Admin. Bonnie Schrack and project advisor Whit Athey, have values of 9 at the marker DYS450 (included in the 67-marker test). Almost all non-J2a1k members of the J haplogroup have 8 at this marker. If you have a 9 at this marker and have not yet tested DYS445, which defines J2a1k, please order it from the Advanced Tests page today! Help us confirm or disprove this hypothesis. To order Advanced Tests, just go to your personal page, and click on “ORDER TESTS OR CERTIFICATES.” Then click on “Advanced Orders.”
August 1st
The Most Distant Ancestor field is now displayed on the test results chart. You can find this field at the bottom of your Setup Preferences page. Please fill in the name of your most distant known paternal ancestor, and share anything you know about the place of origin and ethnic background of his lineage.