H11 Newsletter, Volume 2, Issue 1

H11 Newsletter

Table of Contents

1.   FT DNA Project

2.   Project Statistics

3.   Latest release of the phylotree, Feb 2016

4.   Recent publication

5.   Future article

6.   Value of mtDNA testing

1.   FT DNA Project:

My life has become incredibly busy in a different way the past few months and my ability to keep up with my projects considerably diminished. I am hoping with the New Year that that will change and I can now complete some tasks that I set for myself with regard to the H11 project. There are now 274 members in our H11 project. Full sequence results are completed on 238 members of the group. Interestingly 189 members of this group have also done Family Finder. Unfortunately it is not possible to visually look at the Family Finder results as that would compromise the privacy of individuals. However, you can look at your matches in Family Finder. 

2.   Project Statistics (yDNA statistics removed):

Combined GEDCOMs Uploaded	47
DISTINCT mtDNA Haplogroups	16
Family Finder	189
Genographic 2.0 Transfers	18
Maternal Ancestor Information	232
mtDNA	249
mtDNA Full Sequence	238
mtDNA Plus	246
mtDNA Subgroups	22
Total Members	274
Unreturned Kits	12

3.   The latest release of the phylotree used by FT DNA was dated 18 Feb 2016:

H11 breakdown in the PhyloTree mt:

Within the study group we have members in every sub-haplogroup except H11a5 (and it can be seen in the chart above that the mutation C15040T marks this subgrouping). 

http://www.phylotree.org/tree/R0.htm *

*van Oven M, Kayser M. 2009. Updated comprehensive phylogenetic tree of global human mitochondrial DNA variation. Hum Mutat 30(2):E386-E394. http://www.phylotree.org.

doi:10.1002/humu.20921

4.   Recent publication:

Interesting information on H11 haplogroup published by Maciamo Hay (originally published in January 2014, last revised November 2016):

http://www.academia.edu/5979638/Origins_and_history_of_Haplogroup_H_mtDNA_

Haplogroup H11

H11a: found across most of northern, central, and in eastern Europe and in central Asia; found in middle Neolithic Germany and Megalithic Spain

H11b: found in Poland, Slovakia, Serbia, and England

A comment within the article: Other H subclades were also probably found among Mesolithic or later Upper Paleolithic Europeans based on their exclusive presence in Europe today. This could be the case of haplogroups H10, H11, H17, H45 as well as many minor subclades for which too little data is available at the moment, but that seem to be exclusively European. H10 and H11 have a stronger presence in Eastern and Central Europe and would have re-expanded from the Northern Black Sea Region rather than from Southwest Europe after the Last Glacial Maximum.

I did find the earlier reference to geographic location for H11a including central Asia to be a contrast to the idea expressed in the comment where H11 is said to “seem to be exclusively European.”

5.   Future article:

Hopefully, in the next issue, I will do a breakdown once again from the location material submitted by the members. It would be interesting to once again look at that with regard to the above mentioned article.

6.   Value of mtDNA testing:

The two paragraphs below discuss my own mitochondrial DNA results and the results for my husband. It is helpful for people to understand that the greatest value in mtDNA testing is knowledge about one’s deep ancestry anything else is just a luxurious happening. If anyone else has a good news story to share please send it in if you wish to have it published.

Mitochondrial DNA can be a very helpful tool to some for instance my mutations bring me to Argyllshire/Ayrshire Scotland or Ireland - thus far no exceptions in my many matches included in the project. That can be very helpful to some. However, it does not tell me the name of that distant ancestor. I am still stuck in Birmingham in the mid 1800s. I do have a possibility. That possibility in several generations does not lead me to Scotland or Ireland. Family Lore helps a little but nothing substantial from that either. My matches and my Living DNA results do point to my having a Irish/Scot connection but I do have 2 3x great grandparents with a Scot surname although rather distant back. I have no perfect matches other than my siblings and ten matches are one step away. Also having this lovely person with the surname of Taylor adds to that challenge.

My husband on the other hand has over a dozen perfect matches to his mtDNA. The only item he has learned from all of that is a match with someone in England whose line has been in England back to the 1700s at least and is a perfect match. Looking at this matching individual there is a possibility that her ancient ancestor was from Denmark/The Netherlands. My husband can trace his line back to 1654 when Margaret Carr was baptized in Newport Rhode Island but no further for sure. No one else in that particular maternal line has tested that can trace back to Margaret Carr or her sisters.

Any submissions to this newsletter can be submitted to Elizabeth Kipp (kippeeb@rogers.com).