FamilyTreeDNA recently announced the new mtDNA Discover tool and a greatly expanded mtDNA Tree of Humankind. Learn more about these updates and how they can help your genealogy research.
Mitochondrial DNA, also known as mtDNA, is the DNA that you inherit from your mother. (You can read more about mtDNA testing for family history here.)
FamilyTreeDNA recently released several updates to the mtDNA Tree of Humankind and more reports with mtDNA Discover™. With these new updates, now is a GREAT time to take an mtDNA test or explore your mtDNA results at FamilyTreeDNA!
Let’s take a closer look at these exciting updates.
Major updates to the mtDNA haplotree
Since 2020, FamilyTreeDNA has been working on a new mtDNA Tree of Humankind via the Million Mito Project. Now, five years later, the beta version of this tree is available!
The mtDNA Tree of Humankind is a MAJOR update from the PhyloTree, which was first released by scientists in 2009 and was the tree FTDNA used to determine your placement on the haplogroup tree based on your test results. The PhyloTree was last updated in 2017 using about 24,000 full and partial mtDNA sequences. This version has about 5,400 branches, with most having formed several thousand years ago. This was not very helpful for genealogists, who are looking at more recent generations.
Using over 500,000 mtDNA test results from FTDNA, the newly-updated mtDNA Tree of Humankind from the Million Mito Team is now nearly eight times larger, with over 40,000 identified branches. WOW!
If you’ve taken an mtFull Sequence test, you won’t likely see any significant updates to your mtDNA reports until the beta testing period for the mtDNA Tree of Humankind has been completed. (Some testers’ PhyloTree haplogroups need adjusted. You’ll be notified if your haplogroup changes.) But before then you will see a new look for your mtDNA matches page, a second assigned haplogroup from the updated mtDNA Haplotree, and new reports that have been added in mtDNA Discover.
FTDNA identifies mtDNA matches based on specific criteria:
- For a match to be listed at the HVR1 or HVR2 level, the individual must share all the same mutations as you in those regions.
- A match at the Coding Region level must belong to the same haplogroup as you. This haplogroup assignment is based on the presence of specific mutations across the entire mitochondrial DNA sequence, including both the coding region and the hypervariable regions.
Similar to what you may see in YDNA test results, you may have other mtDNA testers that are related to you within a genealogical timeframe but have been placed on a different branch of the mtDNA Haplotree.
The scientists working on this project are currently developing an algorithm for mtDNA matching which will be released once the beta period ends.
New mtDNA matches page
Your mtDNA matches page got an update. This new look is similar to the pages of FTDNA’s Family Finder and YDNA matches. Now you’ll be able to see your mtDNA matches’ maternal country of origin (based on the country entered for their earliest known ancestor) and their updated mtDNA haplogroup and haplotype.
Newly-updated mtDNA matches page. You can now see your mtDNA matches’ maternal country of origin (based on the country they enter for their earliest known ancestor). You can also see their updated mtDNA haplogroup and haplotype.
Updated mtDNA haplogroup
You’ll be able to see both your updated mtDNA haplogroup and your legacy haplogroup. Both haplogroups and badges will be assigned through the beta period.
Note that your haplogroup may change slightly during the beta period as scientists continue to work on the Mitotree. Additionally with time and testing, hopefully, many of our haplogroups will become increasingly refined, as we’ve seen with YDNA.
New reports in FTDNA’s new tool, mtDNA Discover™
FTDNA’s new product mtDNA Discover™ is a great tool for your maternal ancestry research. If you’ve taken a YDNA test at FTDNA, you’re likely already familiar with a lot of these reports, they’re just now available for your mtDNA!
The reports now available for mtDNA include:
- Haplogroup Story: Explore the history of your direct maternal lineage.
Haplogroup Story report
- Country Frequency: View where your haplogroup is most commonly found today. This report is based on both tester data and academic studies.
- Ancient Connections: Using DNA from archaeological remains, this report shows you ancient individuals with whom you share common maternal ancestors.
- Notable Connections: Find connections to famous people who share your haplogroup.
- Migration Map: Trace the ancient migrations of your maternal line.
- Time Tree: View a genetic tree that’s scaled to time based on matrilineal ancestors shared by members of your haplogroup and how they connect to others.
- Match Time Tree (only available to mtFull Sequence testers): Shows how you and your mtDNA matches fit into a shared genetic tree. This removes the extra work in understanding relationships.
Match Time Tree report
- Ancestral Path: Allows you to follow the genetic path of your maternal lineage. This report shows each step back to over 140,000 years ago.
- Classic Tree: View the FTDNA Mitotree, which combines modern tester data with ancient DNA samples and academic data.
- Suggested Projects: Find community projects that already include other members of your haplogroup
- Globetrekker and Group Time Tree (only available to mtFull Sequence testers): These reports are coming soon for mtDNA testing, but you may be familiar with these reports if you’ve taken a Big-Y 700 test. Globetrekker is an interactive map that estimates your geographic origins and shows detailed migration routes of your ancestors. The Group Time Tree report displays various subgroups and visualizes connections between members of a subgroup.
Additional mtDNA updates and features
There’s now a column for Mitotree haplogroup in the following reports:
- Group project mtDNA results
- Group administrator reports: you’ll find this column in the mtDNA results, mtDNA results classic, and member subgrouping reports
- Advanced matches
Profile cards now have a Mitotree haplogroup, Kit Manager name, Earliest Known Ancestor Country of Origin, and the My Personal Story section has been added back.
FTDNA says that updates coming soon will add Mitotree haplogroups to Family Finder matches and additional group project and administrator reports.
How do these mtDNA updates help with my genealogy research?
So how do these mtDNA updates help you with your genealogy research? Great question!
1. More branches for more recent common ancestors
The additional 35,000 branches on the mtDNA haplotree may now help you determine which mtDNA matches you share a common ancestor with more recently.
2. Find Group Projects to further your research
The Suggested Projects report offers you a list of FTDNA GRoup Projects that include members who share your haplogroup. Joining these projects is one way you can connect with others researching the same lineage and work with group project administrators.
If you haven’t already taken an mtDNA test, now is the time! Purchase an mtDNA test* to get started.
If you’ve already taken an mtDNA test and you’re finding more mtDNA matches with these new updates, you should contact them! Not sure what to say? Get our free guide to contacting your DNA matches. We’ll give you a few tips on what to say for a better chance of making a meaningful connection.
